Broken Strings
by Riri Goei
Summary: One of the Warblers has set his eyes on Gina! Will Gina fall for the charming crooner? Why does Ryder find himself jealous? And why is Marley jealous... that Ryder is jealous? The sequel to "Who You Are", with Gyder (Gina and Ryder), Ryley, and Jarley. I do not own Glee.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is the first chapter of "Broken Strings", this time introducing Gyder (Gina and Ryder), quite a lot of Ryley, some Jarley, and… the Warblers! For those of you who don't know, Gina is my OC first introduced in my first fanfiction, "Who You Are." "Broken Strings" is the sequel. As I said before, "Who You Are" is set between the episodes Feud and Guilty Pleasures. "Broken Strings" will be set a couple of weeks before and after Guilty Pleasures, before Shooting Star. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story! Please review, follow, favorite, share, etc. Thank you, and happy reading! :)**

CHAPTER ONE

Let's start this story with a song.

The drums are beating. The bass players are rocking out. The girls of New Directions are chanting and clapping their hands, scattered around their precious grand piano.

"_Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh…"_

A sleek-haired, clean-shaven, and bow-tied Blaine Anderson appears, singing the first part of Fall Out Boy's _My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark._

_B-b-b-be careful making wishes in the dark, dark_

_Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark_

_And besides in the mean, mean time_

_I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart_

_My songs know what you did in the dark…_

Blaine sings at the top of his lungs, pumping his fist in the air, tapping his legs, dancing around the grand piano with his fellow Glee clubbers. Sam sings the chorus along with the chanting of the girls, strumming his guitar furiously.

_So light 'em up, up, up_

_Light 'em up, up, up_

_Light 'em up, up, up_

_I'm on fire!_

_Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, in the dark, dark_

Ryder Lynn, with his Bieber haircut, grey hoodie, and white sneakers, jumps off of the grand piano to sing the next verse.

_Writers keep writing what they write,_

_Somewhere another pretty vein just died_

_I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see_

_That you're the antidote to everything except for me_

Ryder takes Gina Halim's hand. The dark-haired, petite Indonesian girl does a dance of her own as she joins in Ryder for the next lines in the song.

_My songs know what you did in the dark…_

_So light 'em up!_

Ryder takes Gina by the waist, swirls her around, and seats her on top of the grand piano. Next, Jake Puckerman brings all his swag to the number, dancing and singing along with Sam and Blaine. He curtsies in front of his beautiful girlfriend Marley Rose, and the two of them dance together. Brittany S. Pierce and Gina are now in a serious dance-off as the boys keep the song going. The other girls are clapping their hands as the song nearly comes to its end.

_Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh_

_In the dark, dark_

_Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh!_

Everyone cheers and claps as the song ends. Blaine and Sam high-five each other, while Kitty Wilde and Sugar Motta pump their fists in the air and squeal in delight.

"Whoa, guys, that was a very rocking performance!" Mr. William Schuester walks into the choir room, grinning from ear to ear. "Was that Fall Out Boy?"

"You got that right, Mr. Schue," Sam says, still a little out of breath.

"We thought we could practice a song for Regionals, I mean, it's an anthem, and everyone seems to be into that song recently." Blaine adds.

"I still don't get the point of the song." Sugar speaks out.

"Me too. I just know it sounds really angry. I think people will be scared of us if we sing that at Regionals. Like the grandmas and grandpas with the walkers and canes from that care home two years ago. They really scared me." Brittany says, casting her eyes down.

"Well, I'm glad you're all hyped up for Regionals, because it's going to come sooner than you think!" Mr. Schue says. "All right, take a seat, everyone. We'll use the lesson today to choose songs for Regionals. Soon we'll choose who are going to get solos for the competitions."

Unique, Tina, Brittany, Marley, and Blaine perk up at this. They start discussing and fighting over one another on who is going to get that glorious solo for Regionals.

"Unique loves the spotlight, and that's where Unique should totally be," Unique announces, straightening his wig and denim skirt.

"Sorry, Mercedes, but I'm going to get that solo, because I'm more talented than any of you." Brittany shrugs. "I've been practicing songs off the top 40 charts with Lord Tubbington all week long."

"Um, guys? Sorry to break your spirits, but Mr. Schue already said something about giving me and Marley solos." Blaine says, smiling triumphantly. "Let's not forget who is the new Rachel here."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Schue?" Tina's hand shoots up. "I almost forgot. Gina and I have an announcement."

"All right, come on up, Tina, Gina." Mr. Schue moves to the side so the two girls can stand in the middle of the choir room.

"As you all know, the Asian community holds a charity program every year," Tina begins to explain. "We have bake sales, garage sales, carwashes, and stuff like that to gather money we will use for Asian camp over the summer."

"This year, Tina, who is senior coordinator, has arranged for the charity program to be held at McKinley," Gina says. "The senior members of the community have agreed to do a car wash, and the sophomore and junior members are going to have a bake sale. Some of the Cheerios and kids from this school are going to help out too."

"Which brings us to Glee club," Tina says. "I was thinking that maybe we could do a show at the auditorium, you know, for an hour or something. We can get some money out of those performances. It would be a _great_ help. Mike is coming home this weekend to help out with the charity too. I think he wants to do a performance with the boys."

"It's a great way for us to practice for Regionals too," Gina says. "We're going to invite as many people as possible there, so it'll be fun."

"What do you say?" Tina turns to the rest of the Glee clubbers, expectant.

"I say why not?" Blaine is the first to speak. Tina smiles gratefully at him. "It'll be cool. We've never done shows at a charity before, right?"

"I agree. Once we come in, you'll get your money like _boom_!" Artie says.

"All right, so everyone agrees to help out the Asian community?" Mr. Schuester asks his students. Everyone shouts out their agreement, except, of course, little miss Kitty Wilde. But everyone seems to ignore her, so Mr. Schue says, "Let's get ready for the charity program, then! Thank you, Tina and Gina. We'll make sure you'll raise a lot of money for the summer camp. All right, now let's pick some songs! Anyone has suggestions?"

**What's going to happen at the Asian community charity program? Keep on reading to find out… :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout-out to the amazing Gleeotch13 and astrita15 :) you guys rock! Thanks for the reviews! **

**In this story I want to give Ryley some more moments, so here's a tiny bit of Ryley on chapter two. :)**

CHAPTER TWO

"So you've joined the Asian community," Ryder points out to Gina. "That's good. You're doing all right with them, right? You're not kicking anyone's butt just yet?"

"You are very mean, Ryder Lynn," Gina sticks her tongue out at him. He laughs, amused. "I have been a doll at the Asian community. Everyone likes me there. They think I'm their personal Madonna or something. Face it, Ryder, this friend of yours has irresistible charm." She raises her chin up, pretending to be a diva.

Ryder slaps her arm gently. "Yeah, the irresistible charm that makes people wants to strangle you!" He fake strangles her then, wrapping one of his muscular arms around her small neck. Gina pretends to choke and struggle against his grip.

They are still laughing and fake-strangling when they bump into Marley and Jake.

"Hey, lovebirds," Jake jokes, fist-bumping Ryder and high-fiving Gina. Marley smiles at them, her eyes on Ryder's arm around Gina. "Ready to rock out at the charity?"

"Definitely," Gina gives him the thumbs-up. "The girls are doing this awesome number, and I'm still persuading Ryder to do a duet with me."

Jake raises his eyebrow. "Another Usher song?" he teases.

"Nah, maybe some Ne-Yo this time," Ryder says, looking at Gina for approval. "Jason Derulo?"

"We'll think about that later," Gina says. "Come on, let's get to class."

The four of them walk together to their History class. Jake and Ryder soon start debating over a new video game they have recently played together, while Gina and Marley strike up a conversation about the charity program's performances.

It's been almost three weeks after Gina's fallout with the Glee club. Marley and Gina are practically sisters, and they can't stop talking once they're together. Jake and Gina have been cool, too. They talk, joke, and tease each other. Gina's cheeks don't blush as much whenever she's around him anymore, though her heart still beats a little faster whenever she sees him.

And Ryder? Well, Gina's been closer to him than ever. They are best friends; they hang out together, text each other, and go everywhere together. Occasionally they do duets for Glee club. They would spend hours chatting online. Over the past month, Gina and Ryder have grown quite inseparable. They are, as Kitty had put it before, like Siamese twins.

Gina feels good about her life at McKinley now. The bullying hasn't completely stopped; some kids, mostly the Cheerios, still believe all the nasty rumors about her that Kitty had spread. They still throw slushies at her; she still gets tripped or pushed around sometimes. Once she had her clothes stolen from the gym's locker room. Having to live with Kitty through Glee club is sometimes torture, and they would get into verbal wars every once in a while. But the important thing is that Gina doesn't mind anymore. Anyone can bully her, anyone can mock her and try to bring her down, but as long as she has Ryder and her friends at Glee club, she'll get through everything.

"Dude, I definitely did _not_ lose!" Jake is insisting to Ryder. "I simply let you win, because I'm too nice!"

"Cliché," Ryder whistles. "Suck it, Puckerman, you lost! I'm the better gamer."

"No way," Jake refuses to accept his defeat. "Rematch! Today, my house, six pm!"

"Ahh, sorry man, I'd love to come and kick your butt one more time, but I have a date tonight," Ryder ruffles Gina's hair. "I'm helping her family packing."

"Packing?" Marley repeats. "Are you moving somewhere?"

"Nah, I'm living in an apartment for the moment," Gina answers. "My parents are going to find a permanent house soon, though. Some half a dozen boxes are going to arrive from Indonesia today, and Ryder's going to be a real nice boy and help us move them, won't you?" Gina pinches Ryder's cheek, and he grumbles and pushes her away. Marley's eyes never leave Gina and Ryder throughout the entire conversation.

"Well, then, tomorrow!" Jake demands. "Tomorrow, rematch! Let's see who's going to lose then! Don't you run away from me, Lynn."

"It's on, Puckerman!" Ryder says.

"Boys," Gina shakes her head at Marley.

Marley gives a thin smile. "Yeah, boys," she says, her eyes lingering to Ryder's face one more time, before looking away.

**Oooh do I detect signs of jealousy from one Miss Marley Rose?**

**I know most people who read "Who You Are" ship Jake and Gina together, but wouldn't it be interesting to see Marley slowly, surely, getting jealous over Ryder and Gina? ;D **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, thank you for the reviews and kind words. I'm glad you're still liking the sequel. Shoutout to KlaineForeverLover07, CrestofGlee, and savanna . ramirez. 35 for still following my sequel… thanks guys.**

**This chapter is a little crazy, it follows up the problem between Kitty and Gina. I guess they still really hate each other!**

CHAPTER THREE

"No, no, Sugar, that's _not_ how we're going to do it!" Tina is scolding Sugar for the fifth time. "Right step, right step, turn, hands on hips, shake, one, two, three, then turn around and clap! What is so hard about that?"

"I think these moves are silly, and I'm not the star, so I don't see the point of doing this." Sugar says innocently.

The girls are in the auditorium, accompanied by Tina's ancient, large boombox, practicing for their performance. Tina is trying to teach Sugar the choreography, and it's only been ten minutes, but she's on the verge of losing her mind.

"Whatever! Just… prance on the stage, or whatever!" Tina snaps, breathing out loudly.

"You're late," Kitty barks as Marley and Gina rush to the auditorium.

"Sorry, someone slushied Gina again on the way, so we had to make a stop at the bathroom," Marley apologizes, climbing to the stage. She reaches for the vest Tina has made for the girls as part of their costume. Gina follows behind, wiping her blue-stained shirt one more time before putting on the brand new vest.

"What? Can't Panda Girl suck in all the ice instead?" Kitty asks sarcastically, hands on her hips.

Gina glares at her. "Watch it, bitch," she warns.

"Say that one more time and I'll roll you down the stage myself," Kitty threatens back.

"Okay, let's not fight today," Tina says quickly. "Marley, you're on the third row, behind me and Brittany. Sugar, get up from the floor! You'll be right behind me. Gina, I want you to stand on the fourth row –"

"Last row for the looser, totally saw that coming," Kitty mutters.

" – right behind Unique and Kitty."

Gina groans. "Why do I have to stand behind _her_?" she points at Kitty with her foot.

"Because you're shorter than a Hobbit," Kitty says.

Gina curses to herself and goes to stand behind Kitty, who has her hands on her hips, looking like the Queen. She blows fake air kisses to Gina, then makes mocking gestures about her height with her hands. "When you're with Bieberhair," she whispers at one point, "it's like Gandalf and his hobbit waddling next to him. Or Snow White and the bearded midgets. You choose."

Repulsively, Gina snatches Kitty's blond ponytail and gives it a pull.

"AAARGHHHH! Bitch! Get your stinking hands off me!" Kitty screams, kicking Gina in the gut. Gina falls to the floor but gets up almost immediately, half-jumping, half-throwing herself at Kitty. The two girls crash to the cold floor and struggle with each other for a moment, before the other girls break them apart.

"Stop it, stop it!" Marley pleads, pulling Kitty away from Gina. The two girls are now clawing, punching, and kicking each other. Unique and Brittany frantically pull Gina to one side of the stage, while Marley and Tina drag Kitty to the other side. Sugar jumps around the commotion like a gazelle on caffeine, squealing and cheering them on.

"Stop, the two of you!" Tina shouts over Kitty and Gina's angry shrieks. "If we're going to make this charity program work we can't be fighting one another!"

"I don't care about this stupid charity!" Kitty cries. "Just let me snap that bitching bamboo stick to pieces!"

"Oh yeah? Come closer and I'll swing you around on your ponytail, you –"

"Enough!" Marley shouts, and the two of them, miraculously, stop screaming for a moment. They all stare at Marley, waiting. "Enough fighting, you two! I'm tired of listening to you squabbling and fighting like five-year-olds! We have exactly five more days before the charity program starts, and we haven't even practiced. We should stop fighting, _right now_, or we'll just make a fool out of ourselves in front of God knows how many people."

"Well said, Marley," Tina agrees. "Come on, I know you hate each other, but let's… try not to kill each other, at least until the charity ends, okay?"

"Until Regionals," Unique suggests.

"Until _forever_," Marley sighs. "Why can't you just be friends?"

"Until Regionals," Unique repeats.

"Fine," Gina scrambles to her feet again, still glaring viciously at Kitty. "I'll try not to murder her, for this charity."

"Sure, when it comes to supporting your own _kind_ –"

"Kitty, stop," Tina breathes heavily. "All right, everyone, let's just… get through practice today. I've had enough headaches trying to teach Sugar the dance moves. Let's just… start from the beginning, okay? Please. Concentrate."

Tina nods at Unique, who then runs to the boombox, and clicks play.

**I know this chapter's too intense for the beginning of story, but well… I do believe that this will happen if Kitty and Gina meet face-to-face again. Anyways… the charity starts next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. It's me again. I seem to update quickly because I'm on a looong holiday, so more chapters will come soon. Here is the chapter in which two of my favorite Warblers make their entrances…**

CHAPTER FOUR

Five days later, the Asian community charity program begins.

The Cheerios and around half of the Asian community members have arranged the car wash to be held in the school's front yard. Coach Sue and Coach Beiste are keeping an eye on the car wash, with Coach Sue barking bizarre insults from her megaphone and Coach Beiste blowing her whistle, telling everyone to "move it".

The football field of McKinley High is filled with decorated stalls and booths. A large section of the field is reserved for selling goods. Two stalls in one corner sell old books, while the one next to them sells old clothes and shoes. There are a couple of Japanese girls selling kimonos and traditional Japanese fans, while some Chinese girls have a display of tiny clay statues. A group of Filipino boys are selling music CDs and band t-shirts. The Vietnamese crowd is offering some canvas drawings to the visitors.

On the other side of the football field lies the bake sale. Booths selling cookies, brownies, cakes, and pastry line up the perimeter of the field. The delicious smell of warm cookies wafts through the air, attracting more and more visitors to come and check out the bake sale. Little children are stuffing themselves with chocolate chip cookies and cotton candies, while the adults spoil themselves with sweet apple pies and steaming hot crème brulees.

Gina finds herself stuck in one of the stalls in the bake sale. Tina – who is running all over the place frantically right now – had told her to come and check on how the bake sale was doing. Instead, one of the girls handed her an apron and ran away, muttering something about an emergency. Now she finds herself selling decorated cupcakes to grandmothers and yelling children.

"Hmmm, baking, huh? I didn't take you for the baking type."

Gina looks up from her notes to find Ryder grinning slyly at her.

"Hi, would you like to try some of our delicious cupcakes?" Gina says in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Not if you're the one baking them," Ryder says. "I think I could die out of food poisoning."

Gina slaps him with his notes. "You're so mean, Elmo. I'm a terrible baker," she admits. "My Dad's a chef, but the last time _I_ tried to make a cupcake, I burned my finger. I now have complete faith that talent doesn't run on genes. Meh, I'm better at eating stuff than making them."

"That makes the two of us," Ryder says, giving her the thumbs-up. "All right, give me the best cupcake you have in there, G."

Gina gives him a cupcake with a sugar bass guitar on top of it. "Five bucks, Rambo," she says. "No freebies."

Ryder laughs as he hands her a five-dollar bill. "Five bucks? That's a rip-off!" he comments.

Gina returns to her notes, while Ryder eats his cupcake a little distance off the stall. Gina is still concentrating on counting the cost of the cupcakes when a voice says, "These cupcakes are lovely."

She looks up to find a familiar-looking boy. He is tall and rather stocky, with neatly trimmed dark hair. He has a sweet, innocent smile on his face, but what attracts Gina's attention is his blazer. It looks more like a school uniform; the blazer is dark blue, with hints of red around the rims. A blazing, crimson "D" is embroidered on the upper left side. Underneath the classy-looking blazer he wears a white shirt and a striped dark blue-and-red tie.

"You're a Warbler," Gina says instinctively.

The boy chuckles. "Not every kid from Dalton is a Warbler, you know," he says. "But yes, I'm a Warbler. I'm Nick. Hey."

"Gina," she shakes his outstretched hand.

"Pretty name," Nick tells her. "These cupcakes look great. You made this?"

"Nah," Gina shakes her head. "I wish I did, but I suck at baking."

"Well, I think they look wonderful," Nick says, flashing a bright smile. "Just like you."

Gina raises her eyebrow. "I'm not going to give you free cupcakes just because you call me pretty." She says.

Nick laughs, and is about to say something else when someone taps him on the shoulder.

"Nick, Nick, Nick, always the lady killer."

Another Dalton student appears, shaking his head and patting Nick's shoulder. This guy is a little bit shorter and skinnier than Nick. He has chestnut-colored hair, a slightly freckled face, and an impish grin that makes Gina feel suspicious.

"You better watch out for this one," the second guy winks at her. "He's really smooth; you won't know what's going to hit you until you've fallen, head over heels."

Gina is about to respond when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Blaine pushes Gina gently behind him. "Sebastian," he sighs, looking wearily at the brown-haired Warbler. "What are you doing here?"

"Blaine, charming as always," Sebastian says with a little sneer. "Hey, I'm not looking for trouble today. I heard there was going to be a kickass charity program at McKinley, so I decided to show up with some of the boys. Turned a new leaf, remember?"

"This is Sebastian?" Gina asks, eyeing Sebastian warily.

"Ah, the newbie knows me," Sebastian says approvingly.

"I watched your Sectionals performance online," Gina says. "That's why you and Nick looked familiar."

"Just go away, Sebastian," Blaine says, half-pleading, half-threatening. "Do us a favor and don't mess up anything. This charity's important to the Asian community. Oh, and hey, Nick. How you're doing?"

"I'll try," Sebastian says sneakily. "But trouble usually follows me around."

"Don't mind him, Blaine," Nick says, grinning at his old buddy. "I'll keep an eye on him." He turns to Gina. "I heard you're doing a performance at the auditorium at ten?"

Gina nods. "It'll only be two bucks per ticket," she tells him.

"Well then, maybe I'll see you there," Nick gives her another smile. "Oh, and I'll take one of these, thank you." He picks up a pink-frosted cupcake, hands her five bucks, and gives her a little wink before walking away. Sebastian waves at Blaine before disappearing into the crowd again. Gina watches Nick walk away with a strange feeling of curiosity. Did he just… hit on her?

As soon as the two Warblers have disappeared, Ryder comes over.

"What did _they_ want?" he asks, frowning.

"Cupcakes," Gina answers coolly, and returns her attention back to her notes.

**Nick and Sebastian are two of my favorite Warblers, and I love the Warblers, so I put them in the story. I've always wanted one of those classy blazers… ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

With two dollars per ticket, the auditorium is soon packed with audience. There are parents of the students of McKinley, family members of the Asian community, and even kids from other schools.

Tina peeks out of the curtain and gives a nervous sigh. "It's a full house, ladies," she announces to the girls, who are getting ready for their performance. "We come up third, after Blaine and Mike and Sam." She nods at the three boys, who are also cleaning up for their performances.

"How do I look?" Blaine asks, straightening his suit and bowtie – dark purple today.

"Like a star," Tina says with a smile.

"All right, wish me luck," Blaine nods at the others, and runs off to the side of the stage. Outside, the show is starting. Jake had convinced Puck to give a hand, so he is now MC-ing the show.

"Whaddup, Lima?" he shouts over the microphone, and the audience cheers. "Get yourselves ready for some kickass performances from the McKinley high students that'll leave you feeling like losers, y'all! They'll sing, they'll dance, they'll wow you out of your seats! Now who's ready?"

The crowd gives another cheer.

"All right, folks, now the first treat of tonight come from my own brother from another mother. Green-eyed, bow-tied, with at least half a tube of hair gel, give it up for McKinley's very own Blaine Anderson!"

As Blaine takes the stage, Tina and Marley scan the audience again.

"The Warblers are here," Tina says, pointing to the fifth row of the auditorium seats. "What are they doing here?"

"Maybe they just wanted to see us perform," Marley says with a shrug. "I mean, that Hunter guy is not there, right? I can only see Sebastian, and… I don't know the names of the other guys."

"Or maybe they'll throw slushies at us when we're onstage," Tina says, narrowing her eyes. "Or sabotage Blaine's performance, or trip someone, or –"

"Tina, relax," Marley calms her down. "Let's just put on a good show and hope that they won't mess anything up, okay?"

"Knock, knock, girls," Ryder suddenly appears backstage, carrying bouquets of flowers. "Ready to impress that eager crowd out there?" Ryder walks over to Marley. "This is for the beautiful Miss Rose," he takes one of the bouquets and hands Marley one with pink roses in it.

"Ryder, this is so sweet, thank you," Marley is grinning from ear to ear. She gives Ryder a hug, and smells her roses with delight.

"And this one," Ryder points at the bouquet of pink lilies in his hand, "is for the annoying Miss Halim." He hands the flowers to Gina, who blinks at him in surprise. "Now it's time to show everyone how fierce you are, G."

"Thanks, Elmo," Gina smiles as she takes the flowers. "These look amazing."

"No flowers for Unique?" Unique asks disappointedly.

Ryder laughs. "Sorry, Unique, I was kind of running tight on budget." He says.

"How sweet of Bieberhair, giving flowers to baby Huey and baby panda." Kitty says with a smirk.

Gina rolls her eyes. "You got to stop calling me panda, you know," she says. "There aren't even pandas in Indonesia."

"Would you rather be called an orangutan instead?"

"Special delivery." A boy with a baseball cap and a polo shirt comes over to the group. He is carrying a bouquet of assorted flowers, bigger than the ones Ryder had just brought. "Special delivery for… Miss Gina Halim?" He reads the tag on the bouquet.

"What?" Gina stares at the flowers in astonishment. "Who's this from?"

"Someone called Nick the Warbler," the boy answers, reading the tag again.

Ryder's face darkens. "That guy at the cupcake stall?" he asks, frowning as Gina takes the flowers. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"

"Giving me flowers for a good luck wish?" Gina shrugs. "He seems really… nice."

"I don't like the look of this," Ryder says, wanting to take the flowers from Gina's hands and dump it somewhere. "He just met you today. Now he's giving you flowers? This sounds too fishy."

"There's a stand that sells flowers today, Ryder," Gina says. "He could have just bought this and asked that guy to deliver it to me. Stop being so suspicious." Gina smells the flowers and smiles to herself, ignoring Ryder's stares of disbelief.

Marley watches this argument from afar, stroking her pink roses absentmindedly. Her eyes are fixed on Ryder's frowning face. Then her chest starts to feel heavy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, it's me again with a new chapter. Just want to say thanks for all the reviews. They never fail to make me smile. I'm glad you're all liking the story so far. Here we go, let's start chapter six. Anticipate a cute Ryley moment.**

CHAPTER SIX

"Yo, that was _awesome_!" Puck comments through the microphone. "You ever heard a Rihanna song done on a guitar like that? Come on, that was _genius_! Give it up one more time for Sam Evans and Mike Chang!"

The auditorium explodes with applause. Sam had sung Rihanna's _Disturbia_ with only his acoustic guitar, accompanied by Mike's dance moves, and the crowd is still crazy about it. Marley can see several kids hoisting banners with _We love you white chocolate! _written on them. _Okay. That's pretty creepy_.

"We're up," Tina reminds a nervous-looking Marley. "Remember, positions. You turned Sugar's microphone off?" She turns to Kitty.

"Wrenched it off her ear and plunged it into the water closet," Kitty says, giving her a thumbs-up.

Marley starts to shiver. Whenever she's going to perform in front of a crowd, she finds herself hyperventilating. She doesn't _want_ to be nervous; everyone keeps telling her how good and talented of a performer she is. But whenever it's show time, she just feels like a lost little girl, sacrificing herself to a crowd of strangers who only wants to see her trip and fall. Her hands start to shake. Her lips tremble. Cold sweat drips off her chin.

"Marley, you all right?" Ryder comes to stand next to her.

The sight of him calms her down, even for the tiniest bit. "Yeah," she lies. "I'm… I'm just… nervous." She finally relents. "Look at that crowd, Ryder. I'm going to make a fool out of myself again, just like Sectionals."

"Hey, look at me," Ryder takes her hands, and she feels a jolt inside of her as his skin touches hers. She stares deep into Ryder's bright brown eyes. "Remember what I told you before _Grease_? You're amazing. And you still are. Forget everyone else. Just sing, sing, and sing. Sing and dance your heart out. Make them feel your love for music and the stage. Make them feel it, Marley, and they will love you. One look at you and I'm sure they'll be mesmerized. The spotlight always follows you around. Believe me."

Marley bites her lips as she processes what Ryder is telling her. Her heart feels like it's going to burst. Why? Why must Ryder be so kind to her, so sweet, so charming?

"You coming, humpback whale? We're starting in thirty seconds," Kitty interrupts, eyeballing her and Ryder's interlocking hands.

"In a minute," Marley says. She returns to Ryder. "You'll be watching?" It sounds more like a request than a question.

"Of course I will," Ryder nods. "Now get out there before Puck goes all crazy onstage." He hesitates, his hands still on Marley's. Then, with one quick movement, he plants a kiss on Marley's cheek. He runs away before Marley even has time to process what just happened.

The auditorium lights are dimmed as the girls step out onto the stage and gets into positions. Each of them wear tap shoes, black pants, black vests over white blouses, black bowties, and black bowler hats. Their backs are to the audience. Fogs made out of dry ice fills the floor. The music starts playing.

_Baby, baby, just a lil' bit,_

_Baby, baby, just a lil' more_

_Baby, baby, let me see ya_

_Walk to me, talk to me, hear me right_

The girls whirl around to face the eager crowd, their feet moving to the rhythm of Gia Farrell's song, _Hit Me Up_. They form a V formation as they dance, with Brittany on the front, Marley and Unique on the second row, Tina and Kitty on the third, and Sugar and Gina on the fourth. They sing solos off the song in takes on the first verse.

_I did cause a commotion, I can't help but make a scene_

_I ain't looking for something permanent to get at me_

The crowd cheers as the girls start to tap dance. Some, like Tina, Brittany, and Kitty, do it with ease. The other girls are trying their best to follow the rather complicated choreography and to step up their performance.

_Say hey, what's it gonna be tonight?_

_Come hit me up, come hit me up_

_Say hey, you comin' with me tonight_

_Come hit me up, come hit me up_

_Say hey, we'll be running all lights_

_Come hit me up, come hit me up_

The girls laugh at one another as they keep on dancing. They start to spot happy faces in the audience in front of them. Brittany winks at Sam; Tina gives Blaine a playful smile and Mike a happy grin. Kitty blows air kisses to Artie, who blushes as he records the performance with his handycam. Jake and Ryder are on their feet, side by side, cheering at them. Marley's smile breaks and she waves at… who? Who is it she's waving at? Jake, of course. Jake, right? But why did her eyes find Ryder first…?

Gina, well… she was looking for Ryder, and she'd found him, but now her eyes have also found somebody else. Nick. Nick the Warbler. He is on his feet too, clapping, shouting and cheering at them. When he catches Gina's eyes, he winks and points a finger at her. _It's you I'm cheering for!_

Gina can't help but feel a little giddy as she and the girls complete the last part of the song.

_Baby, baby, just a lil' bit,_

_Baby, baby, just a lil' more,_

_Baby, baby, let me see ya_

_Walk to me, talk to me, hear me right_

The girls stand still, heads bowed down, arms on their sides, as the auditorium lights dim one more time. The crowd roars; they are on their feet, clapping, shouting praises. The girls take in the glory of their performance, bowing and curtsying and thanking everyone as they hug one another.

"Give it up for the girls of McKinley High!" Puck bellows, and the audience gives another round of applause in agreement. "That was the _bomb_, ladies!"

"We did it!" Marley says in excitement. Her eyes instinctively move over the audience, and once again, she finds herself locking eyes with Ryder. He gives her a thumbs-up, and a sense of warmth wells up in Marley's cheeks. She feels like she had really made him proud, and that is something she really wants to do.

Marley stops herself. _Why? Shouldn't I be impressing Jake instead?_

Gina, on the other hand, finds herself looking back at Nick. She watches him for a moment, her face expressionless. He's still grinning at her, still pointing at her, looking impressed and happy at the same time. _You rule, girl!_

Slowly, Gina smiles.

**Uh-oh, looks like something is up with Marley and Ryder! And Gina might be falling for Mr. Nick the Warbler! What do you think, guys? Should they or shouldn't they? Oh and, you guys should listen to this song, ****_Hit Me Up_**** by Gia Farell. It's so good. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we go, a short chapter seven.**

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I can't believe how awesome you were," Jake tells Marley as he gives her a hug. Marley burrows herself into the warmth of Jake's body. She closes her eyes. He smells good. He always does. She's slightly dizzy as she presses her cheek to Jake's chest. She opens her eyes, wanting to say something to him, but her eyes find Ryder instead.

He is smiling at her, again, giving her his famous thumbs-up. She smiles, wriggles her fingers at him, and mouths a _thank you_. After nodding at her, Ryder turns his attention back to Gina.

Marley's smile fades. Suddenly, Jake's body doesn't feel so warm anymore.

* * *

"Told you you'd kill it, G," Ryder high-fives Gina. "Oh, you'll be the talk of the town!"

"Shut up, Elmo," Gina laughs. "But yeah, it was great."

"I'd second that."

Ryder and Gina turn around to see Nick approaching them, with a big smile on his face and hands in his pockets. "You totally got my attention, Gina. That was some great dancing."

Ryder starts to scowl. "This is restricted for McKinley students only," he says, a little coldly. "You can't be in here."

"Don't be such a mood killer, Ry," Gina scolds him. She's beaming, her cheeks are starting to blush, and she looks flattered. Ryder doesn't like it. "Thank you, Nick. I'm glad you enjoyed the performance."

"Oh, being all sweet now, are we?" Ryder mutters. "Where's your sarcasm gone, G? The cat got it?"

"Shut up, Ryder."

"Anyways, I'm here to ask you a little favor," Nick says, rubbing his hands together. "After the whole show's over, don't go away first, will you? I have prepared something special for you and uh, I hope you don't mind seeing it."

"Sure," Gina says.

"Wait a minute," Ryder takes Gina's arm. "You don't even know what this guy wants, and you're just saying _sure_?"

"It won't be anything weird," Nick assures them. "Just a little something I'd like to show off to her. It'll be in the auditorium."

"You heard the guy, Elmo," Gina prompts. "I'll see you soon then, Nick."

Nick grins, waves, then turns to leave. Gina is smiling to herself as she watches him go.

Ryder? He feels his jaw and fists clenching. Tight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, thanks for those who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. :) Here is chapter eight.**

CHAPTER EIGHT

"You don't have to tag along, you know," Gina mutters. She, Ryder, Marley, Jake, and Unique are walking along the rows of seats in the auditorium, trying to find the best spot to see the stage.

"I wanted to," Ryder says coolly. "Won't be right for you to be alone here with a stranger you just met, will it?"

"But you don't have to ask the entire _crew_ to join you," she whispers, glancing at Marley, Jake, and Unique.

"Just for precautions," Ryder mumbles.

"Gina! Welcome!" Nick suddenly appears onstage. "I saw your performance today, and you blew my mind. You were indescribable. And, you got me inspired."

As if on cue, around a dozen other Dalton Academy students walk onto the stage. They form a neat formation around Nick, with Sebastian and the blonde-haired Warbler, Jeff, on either side of Nick. Sebastian has a mischievous grin on his face, and he winks at Gina. She shudders; he needs to stop doing that. It feels like getting winked at by the devil.

"This one's for you, Gina Halim." Nick says, and nods at his friends.

The group breaks into an a capella. At least three of the Warblers are beatboxing, while the others are harmonizing the melody. Then, Nick takes center stage and sings the solo.

_Didn't they say that I would make a mistake_

_Didn't they say you were gonna be trouble_

_People told me you were too much to take_

_I could see it, I didn't wanna know_

The Warblers harmonize the song so well that Gina sometimes forgets that they're doing it a capella. Throughout the performance, though, Gina's eyes are fixed on Nick alone. He does a little dance, simple movements with his hands and some easy steps, but he makes them look good. He has a certain… _charm_ coming off him. He has his own charisma, his own vibe that captures Gina's attention.

_You'll be there, when I needed somebody_

_You'll be there, the only one could help me_

_I had a picture of you in my mind, never knew it could be so wrong_

_Why it take me so long just to find?_

_The friend that was there all along_

Nick keeps on gesturing his movements towards Gina throughout the song. Gina watches the whole thing with an amused expression on her face. She isn't smiling, but the edges of her lips are curled upwards into a sneer.

Ryder, he keeps an eye on Nick, frowning, scoffing every time he turns to point at Gina. Sometimes he glances over at Gina to check her expression. He doesn't look too happy on what he sees.

Jake and Unique seem to enjoy the song, not really caring what is going on, but Marley thinks differently. She keeps sneaking glances at Gina, also trying to check on her expression. Then, slowly, her eyes wander to Ryder. He looks unhappy. He has his eyes narrowed now, hands folded tightly in front of his chest. Those big, muscular, yet gentle arms…

Marley shakes herself off the delusion. She focuses back on the Warblers, trying to keep her racing heart at rest.

_I had a picture of you in my mind, never knew it could be so wrong_

_Why it take me so long just to find?_

_The friend that was there all along_

The song ends, and the Warblers neatly returned to their formation. They have their hands folded in front of them, and all of them are beaming with pride, even Sebastian. Performing onstage just gives them pure joy.

Nick, though, doesn't stop there. He jumps down from the stage and walks to where Gina is standing. Marley, Jake, and Unique part to make way for him. Ryder, who is standing on Gina's left, puts a hand on Gina's shoulder defensively, but Gina shakes it off.

"So," Nick says, still slightly panting from all the singing and dancing, "Friday, six o'clock, Breadstix? What do you say?"

Gina is silent for a moment. Ryder feels heat coming off him. He wishes Gina would just say no. Say no, so that this scumbag would leave her alone. Ryder doesn't trust Nick. He's not sure why, but he just doesn't, and he has this impulse to keep Gina as far away from Nick as possible.

"First off, that song doesn't even make any sense because you just met me today," Gina says, unsmiling. "Horrible choice of song if you were expecting to seduce a girl into going to a lame date with you. It's like one of those cheap soap operas where people can just fall in love in a day and live happily ever after. Second of all, Boyzone? It's really cheesy. Can't you pick something a little more modern? Bruno Mars is a thousand times more romantic than Boyzone."

Nick stares at her, confused and impressed at the same time. "So…"

"So you need to make some extra effort to impress me on Breadstix later, mister Ronan-Keating-wanna-be," Gina says, and lets out a tiny smile. "Friday. Six o'clock. Don't be late."

Nick grins triumphantly. "I won't. See you there, then."

Gina pushes him away with a laugh.

Behind her, Ryder puts on a sour face, one Marley regards with a thoughtful look.

**What do you think of Nick serenading Gina? Isn't he the sweetest?**

**NB: The song is ****_Picture of You_**** by Boyzone. It is one of the earliest songs I memorized when I was a kid. I do not think of this song, or Boyzone, as cheesy. Gina does.**


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

"You're crazy," Ryder blurts out as soon as they are out of the auditorium.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," Gina says coolly.

"Oh come on, G," Ryder sighs, raising his hands in exasperation. "One of those Warbler guys suddenly shows up at your charity, goes straight to your booth, flirts with you, serenades you with a '90s out-of-style boyband song, and asks you out, all in one day? Tell me this doesn't sound fishy to you!"

"What do you have against the Warblers anyway?" Gina asks, annoyed. "Blaine used to be one of them and now you call him your brother. What the hell?"

"Uh, they've been kind of warring with the New Directions ever since Blaine moved," Jake answers. "At least… that's what I've heard from Puck."

"Not to mention they used drugs for Sectionals," Unique adds. "And stole our Nationals trophy in some dirty trick to lure Blaine back into their hideous midst."

"Yeah, but the Warblers were _forced _to use drugs, weren't they?" Gina points out. "That Hunter guy, and that Sebastian, they're the real menaces of the group. Nick? From all the Warblers videos I have seen, he's just the nice guy in the background."

"They're all the same," Ryder says angrily. "They were in everything together. I don't trust them. Not after what they did to sabotage the New Directions."

Ginny sighs. "Fine. I'll let you know if Nick ever asks me to do drugs. Happy?" she says coldly, and she storms out of the school before everyone else can respond.

* * *

"I'd like to stay for a while" was what Marley said. When Jake asked why, she reasoned that she wanted to calm Ryder down. This is not entirely a lie; she _does_ want to calm him down. But a part of her also tells her that she's just making up excuses to stay a little bit longer with him.

They sit on the seats in the auditorium. Ryder stares blankly at the stage. Marley chews on her lips and twists her fingers together.

"I don't trust them," Ryder says, breaking the silence. His eyes look… angry. "I don't trust any of the Warblers anymore. Not after… you know… the whole thing with the drugs." He shrugs. "Blaine himself, he hasn't been too trusting now, with people like Sebastian and Hunter on the lead. Said it himself, didn't he? The Warblers have changed."

"I know," Marley whispers. She turns to Ryder. She's never admitted this to anyone, but she loves it most when Ryder's like this – full of raw emotions, exposed, truthful to what's in his heart. Ryder's one of those guys who doesn't really hide their true feelings. No mixed codes or secret messages to decipher. Only Ryder, his emotions, and his words. The sensitive kind of guy.

_Very different from Jake, isn't he, Marley?_

Marley hits her head once to stop the conspiratorial thought. She faces Ryder again, feeling heat crawling through her skin. There's still one question that's bugging her. "Why are you being so defensive?" she asks, carefully. She doesn't want to sound too obvious. "I mean, you seem to show how much you hate Nick, and how much you disapprove Gina going out with him." She raises her shoulders, trying to make it look like it's not a big deal to her. "Nick seems like a nice guy, right? It's only one date."

"I can't believe you're saying that too," Ryder breathes, running a hand through his hair. His sleek, smooth, light brown hair. "I need you on my side, Marley, come on."

"I'm on your side," Marley says hurriedly. "I really do. I'm just… curious." _I'm dying to know. To hear it from his own mouth_.

Marley stops herself mid-thought. What is _wrong_ with her? What is going on with her head these days? _Get a grip, Marley Rose_, she scolds herself.

"I don't want Gina to get hurt, okay?" Ryder says. "I don't want her to be tricked or played with or whatever. She's my best friend. Best friends don't let each other get hurt. I have a bad feeling about this Nick, and I wish Gina would just stay away from him, but nooo, she has to be little miss stubborn again and runs off with plastic Ronan Keating over there." He pouts – an expression Marley finds amusing. "I just want to make sure she's going to be okay."

"Just because… she's your best friend?" Marley prods on cautiously.

"Of course." Ryder frowns. "What? Does that reason sound stupid to you?"

"No," Marley shakes her head, biting her cheek to stop herself from smiling like an idiot. "Not at all. Um… just give it some time, I guess? Let's just see how things go because, honestly, Ryder, there _is_ a possibility that Nick really is a nice guy, and that he's really into Gina…"

Ryder sighs and slumps on his seat. "I hate it when you're right, Marls," he says. "I just can't shake this bad feeling away, you know?"

Marley doesn't know where her impulses come from, but at that moment, she reaches out for Ryder's hand without thinking. "I'm sure everything'll be all right," she says, giving his hand a little squeeze. His skin feels warm. Really warm, and smooth. "You just worry too much."

Ryder smiles then. That sweet, affectionate smile that makes him very lovable. Very lovable to Marley, at least. Marley blinks, trying to get her focus back. She becomes slightly self-conscious of her hand on top of his.

"Marley, you rock, you know that?" Ryder says then, and out of nowhere, Marley feels her stomach flutters. "Thanks, you know, for sticking around. I guess… I guess I'll just have to take your advice. Wait, see how things will turn out." He nods. "Hopefully, nobody gets killed or anything."

Marley giggles. "Nick would be too intimidated by your muscular arms," she says, a tiny blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Maybe you're right," Ryder jokes, showing off his bulky arms and pretending to squish someone's head with them. Marley laughs out loud at his silliness. "Come on, let's just head home," he says then, after joining in her laughter. "Or clean up the football field. I think that's what everyone's doing at the moment."

"Let's, then," Marley says, and the two of them stands up to leave the auditorium.

Before closing the auditorium door, one more stupid thought slips out of Marley's rebellious mind: _I wish we didn't have to go; I don't want to go. I just want to stay here a little while longer. With… with Ryder._

_Not Jake? You don't want to go and see Jake?_

_No… I want to be here… with Ryder._

_Shut up, Marley Rose._

**Ah, those Ryley moments… more will keep on coming, Ryley fans! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here I go again with Breadstix, and it's Gina and Nick's first date! How do you think it will go? ;)**

CHAPTER TEN

Gina pushes the door open and warm, yellowish lights flood out of Breadstix restaurant onto the dark road outside.

The restaurant is not very crowded today; several tables at the end of the room are empty, and only groups of twos or threes seem to be occupying the rest of the tables. The makeshift stage that the restaurant had set up on their karaoke night is gone. In its place are more empty tables. The lights hanging from the ceiling gives the restaurant a warm, hazy glow.

It doesn't take Gina too long to spot Nick. He's sitting on a table near one of the windows, twirling a rose between his hands. When he finds Gina, his smile breaks, and he rushes up to her.

Nick looks different without his Dalton uniform. He has a checkered, blue-and-white shirt and black denim pants on. His hair is a little bit messier than when Gina saw him at the charity, but other than that, he looks more handsome today.

"I'm glad you decided to show up," he says, giving her the rose. "I was kind of afraid you would bail. And, um, I'm not sure what flower you like best, so…"

"I hate roses," Gina says, sitting down on the table. Nick's face pales for a second, but then Gina laughs. "Relax, Warbler! I was just messing with you. No, I don't hate roses, but they're not my favorite either. My favorite is lilies."

Nick laughs as he sits across from Gina. "You're sneaky," he says, shaking his head in disbelief. "I know it sounds crazy, asking you out when I just met you once. I… hope I am forgiven for this insanity."

"Apology accepted," Gina says, stroking her flower. "I don't know, I guess it's weird, because people don't really do this where I came from, you know? But it's kind of exciting too. I mean, I'm glad you asked me out."

"Where you came from?" Nick raises his eyebrow questioningly.

"Indonesia," Gina explains. "People there don't just… hook up after meeting once. They take things more slowly."

"I've… never heard of Indonesia before," Nick admits. "Is that in Asia?"

"Southeast Asia, yeah," Gina answers. "Just a tad far from Singapore and Malaysia. Gah, you suck at geography."

"You're really funny," Nick says. This makes Gina blush a little. "You seem to be very outspoken too. And… a little bit sarcastic." He grins. "So… I suppose there are so many things I don't know about you, and vice versa. Why don't we, um, start with the introductions?"

"Ha, you're gonna hate me once you find out the real me." Gina exclaims.

Nick leans forward, a serious look in his eyes. "I doubt it."

Gina's cheeks are still red when she starts talking about herself. Her family, her past life in Indonesia, what she's doing in Ohio, and what she likes. All throughout the conversation, Nick listens to her patiently. He seems to be taking in everything she says seriously. As she talks, she starts to realize little details about Nick. She notices that his eyes are brown, just like Ryder's. And that he has tiny freckles on his face. That he has dimples when he smiles, and that his hair is more of the color of dark brown than black.

When it's finally Nick's turn to talk, Gina makes sure she's listening carefully too. He tells him about his annoying older brother, the first time he ever met Blaine and joined the Warblers, and about his dream of enrolling in the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.

"NYADA?" Gina asks, perking up. "Like those guys Kurt and Rachel? The way people talk about them on Glee club, they're like the legends of McKinley or some sort. They seem to glorify NYADA a lot."

"Yeah, NYADA," Nick chuckles. "Like Kurt, Rachel, that Santana girl, and possibly Blaine, so I heard. I sing, dance, do a little bit of acting too. NYADA's been quite a dream since I was a sophomore."

In the middle of the conversation, Gina's phone buzzes. Ryder has sent her a text.

_u at breadstix?_

Gina types in a simple _yes_, and puts her phone in her purse, safely out of view.

* * *

"I had a really great time," Gina says, as the two of them walks out of Breadstix.

"Me too," Nick agrees. "We should… do this again sometime?"

"Definitely."

"Can I make a confession to you? Before we go?" Nick says. When Gina nods, he says, "Last Sunday at the charity program? That's not the first time I ever saw you. I've, um, actually seen you before."

Gina raises her eyebrows. "Really? When? Where?"

"Blaine posted this pic of the New Directions in the choir room, and that's where I saw you first. I thought you were… you know… pretty. I asked Blaine a little about you. Then that Artie guy, he posted a link of you singing _California King Bed_ and tagged Blaine along. I watched that. And I was hooked." He gives her a big smile. "Man, your voice. You should just win a Grammy already."

Gina chuckles nervously. "I didn't even know Artie posted that," she admits. "I'm sure it can be a violation of privacy of some sorts, but um… thank you, I guess. I'm glad I could make an impression."

Nick is about to ask Gina if she wanted a ride home when a rusty, red truck halts in front of them. The driver blows the horn four times.

"It's Ryder," Gina says apologetically. "He told me he was going to pick me up. I live not too far away from his house anyway, so… yeah." She sighs. "See you some other time, then."

"See you," Nick nods.

Once safely up on Ryder's truck, Gina waves goodbye at him until he disappears from sight.

**Not bad for a first date, huh? Gina seems to really like Nick, don't you think?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Jealous Marley is back! I had some real fun writing about jealous Marley… hahaha… Partly because this side of her never seems to show up on Glee... except maybe in the earlier episodes with the whole Jake and Kitty thing. I just wanted to explore the many possibilities of Marley's emotional state and her feelings towards Ryder. Hey, she was interested in Ryder once, and feelings can never go away that easily, right? ;)**

CHAPTER ELEVEN

She tried playing the piano, completing her latest song. She tried watching TV. She tried shuffling through several pages of her favorite book, _The Hunger Games_. She tried cooking for dinner with her Mom. But in the end, she finds herself lying on her bed, staring at her phone, which is sitting idly beside her.

Her hands twitch. She glances at the clock. This should be about time. _No_, she scolds herself. _You shouldn't be doing this, really_.

For a moment, her head wins the argument and she lies still. She tries rolling to the other side, so she won't have to see her phone.

But then her hands start to twitch again.

She starts fidgeting with her pink blanket.

Finally, she groans and snatches her phone. She dials the number she's memorized for so long, her fingers moving on their own accords. She takes a deep breath, places the phone on her ear, and stares at the ceiling.

"What?" A grumpy voice answers her. Definitely not what she expected.

"Um, sorry," she says, her stomach twisting into a knot at his cold answer.

"Marley," he sighs at the other end of the phone. "Sorry, I thought you were Gina. What's up, Marls?"

Marley considers what Ryder just told her for a second. "You're mad at Gina?"

"No," Ryder sighs again. "No, at least I think I'm not. But anyway, it doesn't matter. What's up?"

Marley shrugs, sitting up on her bed. "Just wanted to talk," she lies. "How was it? The date, I mean. You really picked her up afterwards?"

Ryder sighs for the third time. He had told Marley his plan of picking Gina up after her 'date', which, to be honest, Marley was somehow not too thrilled about. "Yeah, I picked her up," he mumbles. "Said it was one of the best dates she'd ever been. Funny, huh? To think that she barely even knows the guy."

"Yeah, funny," Marley agrees. She finds herself biting her lip; she loves hearing Ryder's voice. They always sound so sincere, so sweet and caring. She wants to hear more of his voice. She wants him to keep on talking, and she is completely fine with being a quiet listener. "So… are they going to stop here, or… you know… is it going somewhere?"

Ryder lets out a tiny laugh. "Someone's eager to know," he teases, and Marley's heart gives a tiny leap. "I don't know, Marls. I truly don't know. Gina thinks they were off to a good start, and it doesn't help that Nick sends her flirty text messages every five minutes, does it?" He groans. "I'll… try to knock some more sense into her. Tell you what, I'll call you back, okay Marley? I think the cops up the road won't be too happy to see me driving with my phone on. I'll call you when I get home."

"Okay, bye," Marley says quickly. Ryder gives her a small "bye", and the line goes dead.

Marley sits still. Her fingers run along the smooth, cold skin of her phone. She wishes for it to come alive again. She longs to hear that voice again, that chuckle, that teasing tone. She wonders what is wrong with her, when she had been fine for the last few months.

Or had she?

She scrambles off bed, goes towards her desk, and pulls out a pink notebook decorated with flannel flowers and hearts from its bottom drawer. She flips it open, grabs a pen, and scribbles something down furiously. After about a minute or two, she puts her pen down, takes a deep breath, and closes the book. She then tucks the book safely back into her drawer, on top of a light blue notebook decorated with flannel stars and the moon.

She is staring at her hands absentmindedly when her phone rings. She jumps, but then she dashes to the bed and answers the oncoming call without even seeing the name on the screen. "Hello?" she breathes, heart beating fast.

"Hey, beautiful." Jake's voice fills her ears. Before she can stop it, a little disappointment creeps into her heart. "You sound so excited. Waiting for someone?"

"No," she manages to mumble. "What's going on?"

"Listen, about that date tomorrow? You think we can change it to Sunday instead? I need to do these extra hours at my dance lessons, since we're going to have a show next month and Regionals soon too. You think you're cool with that?"

"Oh," Marley's face falls. "But we were going to watch the stars…"

"I know, I know," Jake says apologetically. "And I feel really, _really_ bad for this. I'm really sorry, Marley. But I'll make it up to you on Sunday, okay?"

"Okay." What else is there for her to say?

"Okay," Jake confirms. "I'll see you Sunday, okay? Sorry again, Marley. I love you."

She mumbles the mandatory "I love you" back, and the phone goes dead one more time. She dumps it across the bed this time. She groans to herself as she puts her hands over her head. What is really going on with her?

When she called Ryder, she felt her heart beating twice as fast to the sound of his voice. She felt adrenaline rushing through her body as her cheeks blush and her hands tremble in anticipation. She was excited. She wanted more. She wanted to hear more of him, she wanted to see him, she wanted to _be_ with him.

But when Jake called her, she felt nothing.

No adrenaline rush.

No excitement.

No anticipation.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

**What do you think Marley wrote on that secret little pink notebook of hers?**

**And the new Ryley situation… yay or nay? :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi my lovely readers! I'm sorry for the no update for a couple of days, I had some things to take care of. But here's chapter twelve! I hope you'll enjoy it!**

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Girl, this needs to stop."

Gina enters the choir room that day to find the entire Glee clubbers standing right in front of the door, blocking her way and glaring at her. Most of the girls, like Unique, Tina, and Kitty, have their arms crossed in front of their chests. One thing is for sure: they look unhappy.

"Um…" Gina shifts her weight from one foot to another, uncomfortable. "Okay, this looks like one of those teenage angst movies where you're all going to jump at me and assault me. So before anyone gets hurt… what's up?"

"We know you're dating Tweety bird," Kitty exclaims.

Gina looks pissed off immediately. "Oh, so that is what it's all about? Nick?" she asks.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sam blurts out, stepping forward from the group. "Gina, you can't be with a Warbler! Those guys are bad news! Bad news, you hear me? They're evil! It's like sleeping with the enemy!"

"Fraternizing," Ryder shoots him a warning look. "I'd rather you say fraternizing."

"It's the same thing," Sam says. "Look, whatever, you _can't_ be with a Warbler, man!"

"Why? Has dating someone from the Warblers suddenly gone illegal?" Gina retorts.

"Look, the Warblers are nice, but they have tried to sabotage us several times already," Tina explains. "Who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeves?"

"Remember that time they stole our Nationals trophy _just_ to get Blaine back into Dalton?" Sam points out. "Not to mention when they threw this rock salt slushie that almost _blinded _Blaine, and they ran away without even saying anything! I told you, they're evil!"

"Oh, come on," Gina sighs. "You've got to stop with the rivalry obsession already. Yeah, they tried to sabotage you, but that was when you were competing against each other. We are going to Regionals. The Warblers are not. They're not even your competitors anymore, so stop with all the fuss! Get over it, people!"

"Gina, you're not _listening_ to us," Artie joins in. "We've had more than our fair share of bad experiences with the Warblers, and we _know_ that they're not someone to trust."

"So far, Nick has proven otherwise," Gina says challengingly, glaring at everyone.

Tina looks around the choir room and spots the person she's looking for, leaning against the piano, quietly listening to the commotion.

"Blaine!" Tina calls him so suddenly he nearly jumps out of his skin. "Come here and tell Gina that dating Nick is a bad idea."

"Um…" Blaine gives everyone a tentative look. "Um… I don't want to start anything, but… Nick's kind of one of the nicest guys in the Warblers." When Sam, Tina, Unique, and Kitty glare at him, he says hurriedly, "I'm just saying, Nick and I were pretty close, and I don't think he's a bad guy. He's friendly, and I think he's… okay."

"Thank you, Blaine," Gina says, relieved that at least _someone_ is on her side. "Coming from a former Warbler, I'd say he's right."

Gina watches in silent rage as all her friends start complaining again about Nick. She knows they are just trying to protect her, and that she should be grateful to have such caring friends, but she can't help but feel annoyed at them. They have not met Nick; they have not gone on a date with him, or spent the entire weekend talking to him on the phone. They don't know him at all. The more they try to tell her that Nick is bad for her, the more she wants to prove them otherwise.

_I'll show them, _she promises to herself, growing even more defensive of her feelings for Nick. _I'll show them that they're all wrong about him._

"Girl, I'm telling you again, that boy is bad news." Unique says.

"Why?" Gina whips her head so sharply that Unique takes a step back. Her eyes glow with anger. Bits of the old, mean Gina is back. "Why do you hate him so much? He's done nothing wrong to _any_ of you. He hasn't done anything wrong to _me_. He's not Hunter, he's not Sebastian. Blaine knows him, and you heard him yourselves. He's not the bad guy, and he hasn't proven otherwise. Why do you _hate_ him so much?" Gina feels like kicking one of the chairs around her, but she urges herself to calm down.

_Count to ten whenever you want to explode,_ she hears Ryder's words in her head. She locks eyes with Ryder, who grimaces at her, not knowing what to say. _Or sing a song. Something you like –_

_Ryder. Screw him. He hates Nick too._

Gina glares at all of them, hands clenched into fists, face flushed with rage.

"What do you all care, anyway?" she asks, trying hard to keep her voice under control. "It's my personal life. My choice. It doesn't have anything to do with you." She nudges her chin at Unique and Kitty. "You two don't even like me. Why bother?"

Before she explodes and before any of the kids can react, Gina storms out of the choir room. She'll skip Glee club today. She's just not in the mood.

* * *

Gina is almost at the front doors of the school when someone calls her name. She whirls around to find Kitty running up to her. Gina clenches her jaw tight; she readies herself for another verbal war.

But to her surprise, before she even opens her mouth, Kitty raises her hands in defeat. "I'm not here to insult you this time."

"Wow, shocker." Gina murmurs.

"Look, I know you're probably going to burst like a horrible zit on the face with rage right now, but the guys were right," she says. "That Warbler guy? He's bad news for you."

Gina searches Kitty's face for any sign for mockery, and is confused when she can't find any. The blonde cheerleader is not even smiling. For once, Kitty is actually serious.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one all smiley about this?" Gina asks, still bewildered at Kitty's drastic change of attitude. "You know, aren't you going to clap your hands and go, 'oh, you got yourself a Warbler for a boyfriend! That's great! Now you can go die out of crack overload with your ears bleeding cheesy boy band hits from the 90s!'?"

Kitty gives her a "you're-so-stupid-I-can't-believe-you're-real" look. "Look, midget Panda, I know you and I got off on the wrong foot, but this time, I'm actually trying to do something nice for you. Me doing something nice is like Christmas, you wait for it for a long time and it's over in a blink of an eye. So you better be grateful about it."

"I don't see how insulting my date could be considered a nice deed." Gina mumbles.

"Panda, listen to me. I know people. I can see past all those hair gel and dusty blazers that he's not someone to trust."

Gina doesn't say anything for a moment. She scrutinizes Kitty, focusing on her face, trying to look into her soul. "Why do you care, Kitty?" she asks then, out of pure curiosity. "Why do you care about what happens to me? Why did you even try to catch up with me in the first place? Wouldn't you be happier if I was miserable?"

Kitty shrugs. "You're a part of Glee club," she says. "As much as I want to bite the heads off those bimbos and Beyonce-wannabes, I have love for them. Those gleeks are my family. You're one of them now, and my family doesn't get hurt. Only I get to torture you."

Gina stares at Kitty, totally flabbergasted now. She just said _what_? Did Kitty Wilde just admit openly to her that she loves her?

"So," Kitty says, snapping back into her bitchy self. The angelic side of Kitty is gone in one quick moment. "Ditch the Tweety bird. Find somebody else. I don't know, go date Bieberhair or Joe or something."

Gina purses her lips. "I appreciate what you're doing here for me, Kitty, I really do, but I'm sorry," she says, backing off her. "Nick is kind of the only one who makes me feel good about myself right now. I'm not going to cut him off just because you have a gut feeling that he might be evil." She grimaces. "You should go back, Kitty. I think Glee club's about to start. Tell Mr. Schue I'll come tomorrow."

She rushes out the front doors before Kitty can say another word to her.

**What's this? Kitty's being all nice to Gina! Do you think Gitty can ever be friends?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello guys. I'm going to make you feel more or less annoyed with Gina for a little while so here's chapter thirteen.**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It's been almost three weeks, and Gina and Nick are closer than ever. They have been texting each other non-stop. Nick would send her cute text messages in the morning, and their conversation would continue until late at night. He would call her, and they would talk on the phone for hours. He would take her out on dates on Fridays and the weekends, and shower her with gifts and flowers.

Gina can't be any happier. She feels like walking on a cloud all day long. She texts him if she's bored in class. Whenever she's frustrated or sad about something, he's the first person she calls to talk to. On Glee club, she would sing sweet love songs and think about him. If she's not up singing, she'll be busy texting him in the corner. Nick has become some kind of addiction to her; he always gives her the best compliments, always makes her laugh, and always makes her feel special. Whenever she's with Nick, she feels like the luckiest girl in the entire world.

She doesn't even care about her friends' rejection to this relationship anymore. At one point, Mr. Schuester himself finally asked her about Nick. But when she told him that there was nothing illegal about their relationship, Mr. Schue backed off and left the topic alone. Whenever the kids on Glee club starts ranting about how bad of an influence Nick is to her, she just opens one of his messages and she would feel a whole lot better.

Nick is her drug. She wants him. She needs him. And there isn't anyone who's going to stop her.

* * *

Gina is giggling over a text Nick has just sent her when Ryder shows up. He leans on the locker next to hers and peeks at the message.

Gina pulls the phone away from his view, cheeks blushing. "What?"

"I see you're still texting Mr. Warbler," he says, clearly disliking this situation.

"You know that I still do, Elmo." Gina scoffs. "What's up?"

A smile appears on Ryder's face. "Guess what? G.I. Joe 2's premiering this weekend. How cool is that? I saw the trailer and all that, and it looks wicked. So I'm thinking, we should go to the premiere, like, get tickets, then we'll buy large tubs of popcorn and it'll be lots of fun, and –"

"Oh, geez, Ryder, I'm sorry," Gina says, a guilty smile on her face. "Um, Nick kind of asked me out this weekend. We're… we're going to see G.I. Joe too."

Ryder's face falls. "Oh," he says dumbly.

"He's got tickets, he knows someone and he's got them, so I couldn't say no," she explains. "And I mean, I want to see it too, so it was good with me." She puts a hand on Ryder's arm. "Maybe we can go together? The three of us? As long as you promise not to kill Nick I think we'll be fine."

"Nah," Ryder shrugs her hand off. "It's cool. You know what they say, right? Three's a crowd." He forces a smile, turns around, and leaves.

* * *

When Marley sees Ryder walking down the corridor with his head down, she knows that something is wrong with him. She closes her locker and walks up to him.

"You okay, Ryder?" she asks.

Ryder gives him a bleak smile. "Yup, good. What's up, Marls?"

Marley raises her eyebrows. "You don't look very good," she points out. "Come on, Ryder. Tell me. What's wrong?"

Ryder sighs. "Guess I'm not a very good liar, huh?" he grimaces. "It's Gina." He tells her then, of what had just happened a few minutes ago. Marley listens to his story with a sinking heart. When he's done, he looks at her with his puppy eyes, and Marley feels like she can't breathe. "I'm trying to do what you said, about letting things be, but I'm still not sure about this, Marls. I still can't trust that guy."

Marley bites her lip; it kills her to see Ryder upset like this. _That Gina_, she thinks. _How can she waste someone as good as Ryder?_

_You did too, Marley Rose. Remember? _

_Shut up, stupid head._

_Say something. You need to say something to make him feel better_. "I'm sure you'll get it soon," she finally says, feeling like a complete idiot. "And I think Gina's going to be fine. Things have been going well for them up until now, right?"

Ryder sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I guess," he mumbles. "It's just that she's been missing Glee club recently just to go out with him. She nearly missed the entire week of our guilty pleasure assignments. I'm getting kind of worried."

_He looks so cute when he's worried_, Marley thinks. _I wonder if this is how he looked when I fainted and he was worried about _me_. _"Maybe she just thought that she could skip the guilty pleasure assignment because Mr. Schue didn't even assign it," she tries to reason with him. "I'm sure she'll be back on Glee next week. Mr. Schue will be in tomorrow, so I heard."

"Yeah, l hope so," Ryder says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, I got to get to class," he points to the Geography classroom on his left. "I'll see you on PE later, okay, Marley?"

"Yeah, see you later." Marley waves him goodbye. He smiles before disappearing into Geography class.

Marley takes a deep breath before turning around to go to Biology. She'll see Jake there, but she wishes she had taken Geography so she could walk into that class with Ryder.

On her way to class, she pulls out her pink notebook, and starts writing again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! It's me again… :p **

**Sooo I don't want to lose track of the underdog quality in Gina: she doesn't have confidence when it comes to herself. I want to picture that side of her coming out again in this chapter.**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"And that, would be the Ursa Major."

Nick points to a constellation in the sky. Gina snorts at him. "You're making them up," she accuses. "You don't have the slightest clue about star constellations, do you, you smug idiot?"

"What?" Nick gapes at her. "How dare you underestimate me, you – okay, you got me. Yeah, they're all just random blots in the sky to me." Gina laughs, and he likes the sound of it. "Um, can we play pretend though? Let's just say that one's Ursa Major, okay?"

Nick and Gina are sitting on a roof, staring at the beautiful stars in the night sky. They had sneaked into an abandoned restaurant with an open roof and climbed upstairs. Underneath them, though, the traffic is crazy. Every two minutes they hear a car honking or angry drivers shouting curse words from opened windows.

"We chose a horrible spot," Gina points out as she watches a fortyish, balding man cursing the car in front of his, which apparently had stalled. "And a horrible time, too. It's like rush hour. What were you thinking?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking at all," he laughs. "So let's not mind those insane drivers. Let's just talk. How's school?"

"You sound like my Mom," Gina teases, before letting out a sigh. "I don't know, I've been kind of lost," she admits. "They're preparing for Regionals, and they want me to be one of the star dancers along with Brittany and Jake, but to be honest, sometimes I'm worried I can't keep up with them. I mean, they are _so_ good."

"You're wonderful, too," Nick says. "I saw you dance. You were great."

Gina pinches his cheek. "Aww, you're too sweet," she says. "But honestly? Sometimes I feel lost when I'm on Glee club too. It's hard being the new kid, you know? You don't know the inside jokes, the traditions, the things people do. I still feel like an outsider."

"I heard they haven't really been all that nice to you," he says, frowning. "Didn't you get into a nasty fight with that Kitty girl? Boy, she really scares me."

"Yeah, Kitty's kind of my mortal enemy, but whatever," Gina waves the topic of the blonde cheerleader off. Thinking of Kitty makes her remember what she'd said to her about Nick, but she really doesn't want to think about it now, so she puts the thought aside. "I think Unique doesn't like me very much, either. I'm not sure why."

"Maybe they're jealous of how talented you are," Nick suggests with a smirk.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Gina rolls her eyes at him. "All those great performers in the room? Yeah, right. Sometimes I feel like a prancing pony, dancing next to Brittany." She burrows herself in her arms. "I'm going to suck at Regionals. Crap, crap, I _can't _be the star dancer. I'll just ruin everything. I'll –"

"Hey, cut it out," Nick stops her. "Do you even hear yourself? You're _not_ going to ruin everything for Regionals. It's the other way around. You'll kick some asses."

Nick seems thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, is the Glee club making you feel bad about yourself?"

Gina perks up at this. "What?"

"Is the Glee club making you feel bad about yourself?" he repeats, his eyes somber. "Are they saying things to you that makes you feel like you can't do it, things that discourage you, or –"

"Hey, hey, let's not get too carried away here," Gina says, chuckling. "No, they _don't_ make me feel bad about myself. It's me, okay? I'm self-pitying myself again. It's lame, I know."

"Oh," Nick says. After a while, he adds, "Anyway, you should fight back, Gina. If they ever push you around or degrade you, fight them back. Let them show how fierce you truly are."

A laughter escapes Gina's mouth. "I swear, you give the worst advices." She slaps him gently on the arm.

"But I'm serious," Nick insists. "You need to defend yourself. They don't sound that nice to you. They still treat you like you're a stranger. I mean, what's up with that? You've been with them for, what, almost two months? They need to start treating you better or you'll just have to show them your fangs, Gina Halim."

Gina shrugs. "You think they don't… like me?" she asks timidly. This is a secret she has kept to herself for some time. A thought, a rational fear, that the kids on Glee club don't actually like her. She doesn't really want to know the answer, but she needs to ask it anyway.

"I don't know," Nick shrugs. "But I'm just saying. I'm kind of pissed off that they treat you like that. Like you're not worth it, you know? When truly, you are." He caresses her cheek, and she smiles at his touch. "As I said, you need to let them know that you're superior, too. Give them ideas, make them say yes to you, don't take no for an answer. Show them that they can't mess with you. That you're a strong and independent girl, and don't let anyone dare to bully you."

Nick takes her hand then. He grips it, tight, and Gina's cheeks explode. She is now as red as a tomato. She weaves her fingers around his, and they seem to fit perfectly.

"Oh look," she says, pretending to return her attention back to the starlit sky. "It's another constellation. Let's just pretend that one's Sagittarius, shall we?"

**I've always loved star gazing, I think it's very romantic…**

**Why do you think Unique doesn't like Gina very much? ;0)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A little bit of Jarley alert. Lengthy chapter, and very intense, so… I hope you enjoy!**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After making sure that no one is paying attention to her, Marley opens her pink notebook and starts writing secret things in it again. Her hand works furiously, filling the neat lines on the notebook, overflowing the page with words. She writes until one entire page is full, closes the book, and hurriedly jams it into the front pocket of her backpack. After closing her locker shut, she jogs away, heading over to PE.

Halfway across the corridor, Marley is surprised by someone wrapping an arm around her waist. She looks up to find Jake grinning at her. "Hey beautiful," he whispers, kissing her temple and pulling her closer to him. "Running somewhere?"

Marley gives him a smile; this time, she doesn't even force it. Although Ryder is occupying her thoughts recently, a part of her is still reserved for Jake. She's got to admit, he's a pretty amazing boyfriend. Although he's not as romantic as Ryder, at least he's caring and affectionate. Marley constantly tries to remind herself of why she had fallen over Jake in the first place: his cool attitude, his handsome face, the kind heart behind all those bad boy attires. He's her boyfriend, of course she loves him.

"We're late for PE," she says, wrapping her arm around his waist as well. "Come on, I bet Ryder's waiting for us already."

They start to walk together, arms around each other's waists. Jake keeps telling her how beautiful she looks today, and Marley snuggles herself onto his shoulder as she blushes.

At one point, Jake turns around to give her hair a kiss, and the corner of his eye catches something falling to the floor. "Oh hey," he says, breaking apart from her. "Marley, I think you dropped your notebook."

To Marley's horror, she finds that her secret pink notebook has fallen out of her backpack. Jake bends down to pick it, but Marley frantically stops him. "Give me that, Jake," she says in a panic, trying to grab the book from Jake's reach.

"Aww, you look so tense. I wonder what's in this thing?" Jake teases as he takes the book off the floor in one quick swipe. He runs away from her, clutching the book in his hands, laughing as Marley tries to snatch it from him.

"Jake, I'm serious! Give it back!" she wails, trying to catch up with him.

Jake laughs, mischievously waving the book in the air. "What's in this book, anyway? Are you secretly a witch of some sort, or –" He stops short as he flips the notebook open. He stares at the page he has opened, wide-eyed, disbelieving. He turns a few more pages over, his expression turning rigid as he takes in what is in front of him. His jaw clenches, and his hands start to tremble.

Marley tries to seize the book from him, but he pulls it out of her reach.

"What is this?"

He sounds broken, furious, ashamed. He swallows and tries again. "What is this?"

Marley looks away from him, cheeks burning, lip quivering. "Nothing," she whispers.

"Nothing?" Jake repeats, his voice betraying him again. He waves the book in front of Marley. "Well if it's nothing, then how do you explain _this_?" He holds a page of the book open with his fingers. Plastered on the notebook is the unmistakable picture of Ryder, sitting in his truck, grinning at the camera. Underneath the picture is the caption, _"Ryder, after Grease show, October 2012_."

Marley casts her eyes to the floor. She is on the verge of tears. She's so embarrassed that she can't even answer Jake anymore.

"If this isn't enough, want me to read what's written on the next page to you?" Jake challenges, his face flushed with anger and pain. He looks like he's about to cry too.

"Please don't," Marley mutters, closing her eyes.

"_October 27__th__, 2012. Ryder took me for ice cream tonight. He knew my favorite flavor and toppings, I can't believe he actually remembered. Then he gave me this adorable teddy bear, and before he dropped me home he kissed me on the cheek. I swear, I saw stars in his eyes._" Jake takes a deep breath as he mouths the rest of the page silently to himself.

"I wrote that on October, okay? We weren't even together yet," Marley says, her voice shaking.

"This goes _way_ after October, Marley!" Jake nearly shouts at her. He roughly turns the pages until he finds another picture of Ryder, this time in his football uniform, giving the camera a thumbs-up. "'_Ryder, January 15__th__, 2013, winning another football championship'_? January? We were together by January, Marley! Why did you still write this, then? '_Ryder did a perfect touchdown, and I think he's the best player in the field, the football team is lucky to have such a great guy for their new quarterback._'" He breathes out heavily, running a hand through his thin layer of hair.

"Jake, stop," Marley pleads. "Jake, please, please, just stop. Just – just stop, please. Please, just give it back to me. Just give it – Jake, please!"

But he's not done. He looks through the other pages in silent agony. There is a picture of Ryder playing the drums on Glee practice. There is another picture of Ryder dozing off in class, his face planted on his textbook. Finally, Jake found one picture that hits his nerve.

It's a picture of Ryder and Marley; he has his arm wrapped over her shoulder, and both of them are grinning at the camera. Jake remembers this picture: he had taken the shot himself, around a month ago, when he hadn't had a clue that Ryder had backstabbed him and kissed Marley after Valentine's Day. A month ago. Gosh, he feels so _stupid_!

"_'Ryder on February, a week after he kissed me. I know I should feel really awkward about this, and I shouldn't be this close to him, but I can't stop thinking about the k –"_ Jake closes his eyes, his heart aching and his eyes stinging from the upcoming tears. When he speaks next, he tries to keep his voice under control.

"You said," he says, his breathing ragged with anger, "you wouldn't leave me for him."

"I won't! I'm not!"

"THEN WHAT IS THIS!" Jake yells so loud several passing students jump in surprise. He throws the notebook to the ground, kicking it with his foot. Tears start flowing down Marley's face. "You said you chose me over him. You said that you wanted to be with _me_, not _him_!"

"I do!" Marley cries, choking back sobs.

"Well, you have a very funny way of showing it," Jake says, his eyes glinting dangerously. He takes no pity in Marley, who is now a crumpled, crying mess. All he feels inside is his personal heartache, his breaking heart, his crushed soul. Her betrayal. The one he loves the most, has betrayed him in the worst way possible.

"Did you plan that kiss too? Huh? Did you two plan on that kiss after Valentine's Day, after all those stupid things I did for you, just to make you happy? Did you plan that and you decided to confess to me because you thought it would get me to break up with you, so you could be with him? Is that it?"

"Jake, no, I _swear_," Marley chokes. "Jake, you're not thinking straight, please stop it. Don't make it worse, don't make it worse, please…"

A sudden realization hits him. "Are you Katie?" he asks.

"What?" Marley is so surprised that she looks up at him.

"Are you Katie?" Jake demands, a new kind of horror creeping up inside of him. "Are you that weird online girl who's been flirting with Ryder for the past few weeks? Ryder's never met her. It could have been anyone, as far as we know. Are you Katie?"

"What? No!" Marley says, flabbergasted. "No, Jake, I swear! I wouldn't do that to Ryder, I –"

"Why wouldn't you?" Jake asks, and his voice chills Marley to the bone. "You had the heart to do this to _me_. Why not him?"

Marley cannot give him an answer. To be honest, she doesn't even know herself. She didn't mean to hurt Jake; she really didn't. She never wanted to hurt anybody. The only explanation she can give herself is that she wasn't even _thinking_ of Jake when she wrote down all those things about Ryder. Jake had been removed temporarily from her mind. When she opened that notebook, her world was filled with Ryder. So no, she didn't do this to hurt Jake purposefully; but how does she explain how she feels to Jake?

"Oh," Jake says, suddenly understanding what Marley's silence means. "Oh, I see." He takes a deep breath, and raises his arms in total defeat. "I'm done with you," he tells her. "I don't want to see you again. If that's how you want to play it with me, then fine. Go and find your new boyfriend instead."

With that, Jake leaves her, giving the notebook one last good kick.

"Jake, please…"

Marley begs for him to wait, but he completely ignores her. She calls his name, again and again, but he's not turning back. Not this time. He'll be missing school for the rest of the day.

Marley slumps down to her knees, cradling the fallen notebook to her chest. The book seems to burn into her flesh, eating her away, reminding her of her guilt. She sobs, but no matter how guilty she feels for betraying Jake, she can't bring herself to let her notebook go.

**Pretty intense chapter, I suppose? For all of you Jarley shippers, I'm sorry for the disappointment over this… riot. I don't want to make Marley the bad guy, it's just that I see the Ryder-Marley-Jake triangle as a very complicated relationship, and I think there's more to it than just Jarley being all lovey dovey and Ryder being pushed to the sideline. Remember the Ryley kiss on "I Do", and Marley's dilemma over her feelings? So please don't see Marley as the bad guy, she's confused herself. At least ****_my_**** Marley is confused. The real Marley seems to have made up her mind completely…**

**Anyways, what do you think will happen to Jarley next? And what will Ryder think over all of this?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, I'm back with a brand new chapter! I think Tina's been quite a bitch on season four, and it's annoying, since she was quite likeable before. So I decide to portray a little bit of her bitchiness here.**

**P.S. That news about Cory Monteith… heartbreaking. There will always be only one Finn Hudson. I feel so bad for Lea and everyone else. I've never been a big fan of Cory but he's still one of Glee's original cast members. Rest in peace, Cory.**

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"All right, it's time for a little discussion on who's going to have solos for Regionals." Mr. Schuester claps his hands as he seats himself on a wooden stool, facing the eager Glee kids. "I know we planned on Marley and Blaine taking the lead, but let's see what we can get out of everyone else, okay?"

"Mr. Schue, the solos will be given to the _seniors_, right?" Tina emphasizes. "Since we'll be graduating soon, it's only fair that we're given the solos."

"_If _you all graduate," Kitty mutters with a smirk. Tina throws her a dirty look.

"Guys, Tina has a point. The seniors _are_ graduating soon, and this is going to be their last Regionals competition. _But,_ it doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't get a chance. We'll play it fair. We'll have auditions for the solos." Everyone claps their hands enthusiastically. "But, I was thinking that two of our recently outstanding performers should be awarded solos." He points, to everyone's surprise, at Gina and Ryder. "Gina, Ryder… you'll be getting a song."

Gina and Ryder look at each other excitedly. Their first solos for Regionals! They high-five each other cheerfully.

"Hold up, _Gina_ is getting a solo?" Tina perks up, her diva personality appearing. "She's new, Mr. Schue! She's never been in a competition before, and she might not know what to do! Sure she was in competitions in Indonesia but it's different here! She's not experienced!"

A flash of hurt passes Gina's face. A sudden realization hits her. _Nick was right. They treat me like I'm not worth it. _

What did Nick tell her to do? _Fight them back. If they push you around or degrade you, fight them back._

"Tina," Mr. Schue sighs, trying to calm her down. "Gina has proven herself to be a talented performer. I think she has what it takes to win us Regionals. We awarded outstanding performers with solos in the past before. Remember Sam and Quinn? Gina and Ryder have deserved theirs, and I want to show them – and everyone here – that hard work comes with appreciation."

"Yes, but not solos on _Regionals_," Tina continues to whine. "I've been anything but hardworking ever since I was a _freshman_. Where's _my _award? My solos? My _appreciation_?"

"It's not so hard singing backup 'ooh's and 'aah's, really," Kitty mumbles.

Tina chooses to ignore Kitty's last insult, and continues firing Mr. Schuester with accusations instead. "First you make her the star dancer, now you're giving her solos, next she'll be MVP! She's just a sophomore. What about the _seniors_?" she complaints. "All of us here have what it takes to win us Regionals! I've done and won this thing way more than Gina has!"

"You said there will be open auditions," Unique chimes in. "It's only fair that Gina and Ryder audition just like everyone else."

"Are you sure you want her up the stage, Mr. Schue? You should buy binoculars for the audience, in case they don't see the Asian midget waggling her tiny panda bump onstage." Kitty adds in.

More protests come from Tina, Unique, and Brittany. Blaine is trying to calm everyone down, but he admits to everyone that it would be better if Gina and Ryder audition for the solos.

"Shut _up_, all of you!"

Gina's loud voice startles everyone. She is on her feet, face flushed with anger. Ryder tries to pull her back to her seat, but she slaps him away. She glares dangerously at everyone on the room, especially Tina, Unique, and Kitty.

"Just because I'm new," she says, trying to keep her voice under control, "doesn't mean that I don't deserve solos at Regionals." Her eyes zero on Tina, who glares at her back, jealousy written all over her face. "I'm just as talented as any of you. I'm getting that damn solo, because Mr. Schue chose _me_. Get over it."

Everyone is silent as she returns to her seat. But then they all explode into chaos once more.

Tina, Unique, and Brittany are protesting non-stop at Mr. Schuester, while Kitty throws insults to not only Gina, but to Tina as well. Blaine and Artie try to intervene, but end up debating with the girls too. Gina starts shouting back at all of them defensively, while Ryder tries his best to calm her down. They all talk at once, screaming at one another, pointing at one another accusingly.

"Enough! Hey, enough! _ENOUGH! _All of you!" Mr. Schuester yells over the riot. He runs to separate Kitty and Gina, who are now almost at each other's throats. He barks an order for everyone to stop bickering and sit back down. Reluctantly, everyone obeys him. They all return to their seats, still glaring at one another.

"What is wrong with you? All of you?" Mr. Schuester asks exasperatedly. "Come on, guys. Regionals is coming up soon, we need to get our heads in the game. Focus! We have to become a _team_. We can't win Regionals if you all fight like five-year-olds over candies." He takes a long, deep breath. "So, Ryder and Gina are getting solos. That's my decision for now. No complaints."

He puts his hands on his hips. "Audition starts next week. Prepare yourselves."

**I kind of find it funny whenever the Glee kids fight over who are getting solos for the competitions. I say after Rachel graduated, Tina is the one who wants to dominate the spotlight, so I want to portray that in this chapter… haha.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I love Pink, and I love Fun., so when the song ****_Just Give Me A Reason_**** came out I fell in love with it. I decided to use it because whenever I listen to this song I somehow think of Jarley.**

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The sound of the piano seems haunting to Marley's ears. She grips the edge of her wooden stool until her knuckles are white, trying to avoid looking at Jake, sitting a few feet apart from her.

_Right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart,_

_And I your willing victim_

_I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty_

_And with every touch you fixed them_

Her soft, angelic voice fills the silence in the choir room as she sings Pink and Nate Ruess' new ballad _Just Give Me A Reason_. All eyes are on her and Jake. They all can sense that something is wrong. After all, they have not talked for almost three whole days. Brittany and Tina had found Marley crying in the bathroom yesterday, and Jake had been missing Glee practice for a couple of days. It was Ms. Pillsbury's idea for them to do this duet. After some persuasion, Jake finally agreed, but it didn't really make Marley feel any better.

_Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh, things you never say to me, oh, oh_

_Things you never say to me, oh, oh_

_Tell me that you've had enough of our love, our love_

_Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough,_

_Just a second we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again_

_It's all in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts,_

_That we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again_

As she finishes her part of the song, she glances expectantly at Jake. He keeps his gaze straightforward as he sings his line.

_I'm sorry I don't understand, where all of this is coming from,_

_I thought that we were fine_

_Your head is running wild again, my dear we still have everything,_

_And it's all in your mind_

Their voices finally blend in as they sing the next chorus. Marley tries to stop her tears from flowing down again, while Jake keeps on his stoic expression throughout the song.

_You're holding it in, you're pouring a drink,_

_No nothing is as bad as it seems, we'll come clean…_

Marley's eyes catch Ryder's, who gives her a worried smile. Her heart aches. She can't look at Jake in the eye. She feels like a horrible, ugly monster.

_Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough,_

_Just a second we're not broken just bent,_

_And we can learn to love again_

_It's been written in the scars, it's been written in the scars of our hearts,_

_That we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again,_

_Oh, oh, and we can learn to love again…_

Brad the piano player finishes the ending of the song, and the choir room falls silent.

Jake rubs his hands on his jeans. "I wish I could believe in that song, but… I think our lines were a little bit… switched." He glares at Marley for a second, who looks down at her lap, chagrined. He stands up from his stool and returns to his seat at the back row without saying anything else. Marley twists her fingers together as she gets up from her stool and sits quietly between Artie and Brittany on the front row.

"All right, that was… great," Mr. Schuester says, getting to his feet. "Thank you, Marley, Jake, that was beautiful. I hope whatever's going on with you two are finally going to be over after that duet."

Marley shoots him a grateful look, but Jake looks away and pretends he didn't hear a thing.

"All right, we'll practice some choreography for Regionals tomorrow, don't – be – late." Mr. Schue claps his hands, excited to pronounce the word _Regionals_.

"Um, Mr. Schue?" Gina's hand shoots in the air. "I don't think I can come tomorrow."

Mr. Schue raises his eyebrows. "Why?"

Gina shrugs uneasily. "Family business?" she says. "I have… something to do."

"If by _something_ you mean _someone_…" Kitty begins.

"Gina, you've been missing Glee practice for some time now," Mr. Schuester tells her. "I know I was sick last week, but the other kids practiced, and you weren't there. This can't go on forever. We're going to _Regionals_ in a few short weeks, and we can't lose our focus. We need to use every possible moment to perfect our performances. You and Ryder should be using your spare time to practice your song. And you still need to learn the dance moves for Regionals. You're one of our star dancers, Gina. You have responsibilities Missing practice is _crucial_ for you."

"I know," Gina blushes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Schue. It won't happen again. I won't miss any more practice."

"Good," Mr. Schue says, pointing at her. "Starting from tomorrow's practice."

Gina is about to open her mouth to protest, but seeing that she can't possibly win this argument, she decides to just keep it to herself. She'll have to come to Glee practice tomorrow, whether she wants to or not.

"What does Tweety bird wants with you tomorrow?" Ryder whispers as they leave the choir room.

Gina shoots him a murderous look. "Shut up, Ryder. It's none of your business."

"So now he's asking you to skip Glee practice? What's next, asking you to ditch school just to go on a date with him?" Ryder presses on.

"I said shut up." Gina hisses. "Just to make you feel any better, he's been giving me vocal lessons so we have a better chance at Regionals. Happy?"

She leaves Ryder alone, speechless.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Marley makes her way to the cafeteria alone, staring down at the floor, trying hard to hold back tears. She's going to have to wait for her Mom to finish work, and to be honest, she can't stand waiting alone at school like this. Not now. Not when she's feeling awful, and when all she wants is to bury herself under her blanket and cry silently.

She stops by her locker and, without thinking, slams her head onto it. The metal feels cold on her forehead, which is now throbbing with a dull ache, but she tells herself she deserves the pain. _In fact_, she thinks, _I deserve a _LOT_ more pain than this_.

She bites her lip, a single tear falling down her smooth cheek. _I betrayed Jake. I hurt him. I don't know if this counts as cheating, but I know I must be the worst girlfriend ever, and to think that Jake trusted me so much only makes it much worse. Plus, he already distrusted Ryder for kissing me. Now he's going to hate him even more. Poor Ryder; he's taking the blame in something I've done_.

She is still wallowing in her stupidity when someone taps her shoulder.

Her heart nearly stops when she turns around and finds Ryder standing in front of him.

"Hey, you okay?" he says, a look of concern on his face. "Look, I know you and Jake are going through… something, and whatever it is, I just want to make sure you're okay. I tried to ask Jake, but he pushed me away and nearly punched me, so I suppose he wasn't in the mood to talk." He shrugs. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You've been… very pale for the last couple of days. Have you been crying?"

Marley wipes the single tear away, shaking her head, offering him a smile. "I'm okay," she lies, but her heart aches to lie to him. "We just… had a fight, but we're going to get through it… eventually." _If we don't… I don't know what to do_.

Ryder puts his hands on both of Marley's shoulders. He looks her squarely in the eye. Marley feels her heart leap out of her chest as she stares right into those dreamy, brown eyes.

"Marley," he says firmly, "Whatever you're going through, you can always talk to me. You can tell me everything, and I'll always keep your secret. Anything. You hear me?"

Marley holds back a sob. Why must Ryder be so kind? Why must he be so nice, so caring, so thoughtful of her? If only he didn't care as much, if only he wasn't this affectionate to her, it would be so much easier to put him off her mind. But no; that's not Ryder at all. One of the main reasons Marley still harbors feeling for him is his sensitive side. She's always loved him for his kind heart. She sighs. _If only you knew_, she thinks bitterly to himself. _What advice would you give me for this?_

"Thanks, Ryder," she says instead. "Right now I just… need to give it a little more time. I need to… get myself together."

"Right," Ryder says, nodding at her. "Your Mom's going to finish soon?"

"Yeah," she nods. Ryder somehow always remembers the little details about her. As she had told herself before, thoughtful. "I'll be fine. I'll head home in about twenty minutes."

"Okay. You want a ride home?" he asks. "Might be nice to go home earlier. I'm giving Gina a ride home, and she'll be texting Warbler dude all the way home, so you can be my chat buddy." He chuckles.

Marley lets out a tiny smile. Gina again. "No, thanks, Ryder," she says softly. "I'll just wait for my Mom. She'll be done soon, anyway."

"Okay." Ryder grins. "If you ever need me, you know my number. See you tomorrow, Marley."

Weakly, Marley waves at him as he runs off to the parking lot. As he disappears, she can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He's going home with Gina. She knows that Gina's fallen for the Warbler Nick, but she envies her friendship with Ryder. He cares so much for her, and he pays attention to the little details about _her_, too.

Marley feels the ugly, green monster swell out of her again. She is bewildered at herself. She was fine when Gina and Ryder had been close those first couple of weeks Gina had been on Glee club. She wasn't jealous when Gina and Ryder turned into best friends. Why is she overwhelmed with jealousy right now? Why is she longing for him to look her way again, and forget Gina instead?

She starts to blame herself again. She has wronged one person she cares about; she's not going to make a mistake with another. Gina is her friend; she cares for the Asian girl, and she loves having her outspoken and sarcastic personality around. Gina is her friend. Her friend. She shouldn't be jealous of her. Ryder is Gina's best friend, too. Marley can't have him for a friend all to herself.

_Gina's my friend_, she chants in her head. _Gina's my friend. Gina's my friend. Gina's my friend. Ryder is her friend, and he's my friend too._

_But you want him to be more than just a friend to you, don't you?_

_Shut up, Marley Rose_.

**I wish I had a friend like Ryder Lynn. Seriously.**


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"All right, places, everyone!" Mr. Schuester orders the New Directions. "We'll start today with some basic steps. Brittany, Blaine, Jake, Gina, take it away."

The four star dancers in the group step up to the front, teaching the other groups some basic choreography to warm their bodies up. Jake, however, is dancing with a sullen expression, and it's obvious that his heart is not in Glee practice today. He avoids standing too close to Marley or Ryder, choosing to stand next to Kitty instead.

Gina's head seems to not be in the game as well. She keeps glancing at the door, as if wanting to dash out of the choir room and go someplace else. Only Brittany and Blaine seem to be excited to dance for the Glee clubbers.

After almost half an hour of warm-up dance moves, Mr. Schuester orders a five minute break. The guys slouch down on one side of the room, drenched in sweat, while the girls mop up their clammy faces with towels.

Gina's phone buzzes in her pocket. She checks it, and her face beams as she sees Nick's name on the screen.

"Mr. Schue?" she stands up. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Sure," Mr. Schue nods.

In one minute, Gina has dashed out of the choir room.

* * *

The door of the auditorium creaks on its hinges as Gina bursts inside. She looks around eagerly, before spotting a lone figure on the center of the stage, hands clasped behind his back, smiling down at her.

"Nick!" she laughs, rushing up to the stage to meet him. He's in his full Dalton uniform now, and to be honest, Gina is starting to like the classy uniform. Nick had given her an old Warbler blazer that belonged to his older brother, and Gina has grown to love it ever since. "You crazy ass weirdo, what are you _doing_ here?"

"You canceled our date," Nick says, raising his shoulders. "I was disappointed, but I wanted to see you, so I thought I'd drop by McKinley and give you a little surprise visit."

"Yes, but why the auditorium?" she says, frowning. "You… do know where the choir room is, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I guess your friends won't be too happy to see me around," he admits, "so I decided to call you here."

Gina grins. "Good call. You're absolutely right."

"Yep. And to make up for our postponed date, I have brought you something." He pulls out a large package from the side of the auditorium and hands it to her. It is neatly wrapped in silver wrapping paper, with the words _To Gina_ written on it with black marker.

"What's this?" Gina asks, smiling mischievously. Nick watches her silently as she turns it around in her hands. She looks so excited over the gift.

"A backpack," Nick confesses. "Thought you would like it."

Gina laughs. "I'm sure I will," she assures him. "Thank you, Nick. That's really nice of you. I'll wear it to school on Monday."

Nick gives her a tiny smile as he pulls his tie looser. He clears his throat. "I also prepared something… special," he says. He gestures to a small CD player on the floor of the auditorium. "You up for a little, uh, vocal challenge?"

Gina smirks. "Bring it on, Warbler."

Nick grimaces as he goes to turn the player on. As soon as the music starts flooding out of the speakers, Gina notices the song: _Just a Kiss_, by Lady Antebellum. She blushes; give it all to Nick to choose a romantic song for a secret duet.

She turns to look at Nick, smiling at him, feeling her chest grows heavy with emotions, as she starts to sing.

_Lying here with you so close to me,_

_It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe,_

_Caught up in this moment, caught up in your smile…_

Nick walks up to her, slowly, gradually, as he sings his part.

_I've never opened up to anyone,_

_So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms_

_We don't need to rush this, let's just take it slow…_

They are face to face now, and Gina can feel herself floating off the ground. Nick's eyes seem to twinkle, and she is just so happy to see him right now.

_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight,_

_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright,_

_No I don't wanna mess this thing up, I don't wanna push too far_

Gina's head swoons as Nick takes her hands in his. His hands are much bigger than hers, and they are warm. Very warm.

_No I don't want to say goodnight,_

_I know it's time to leave, but you'll be in my dreams, tonight…_

_Tonight… tonight…_

Nick's hand moves to caress her cheek. She closes her eyes, savoring his touch, almost bursting with happiness. _This song is perfect for us_, she thinks, lost to the beauty of the music. _Just the perfect song. The perfect words. The perfect time. The perfect person._

_Just a kiss goodnight, with a kiss goodnight,_

_Kiss goodnight…_

Gina opens her eyes, and stares directly into Nick's deep, brown ones. They look so mesmerizing, so beautiful, so full of emotions. His eyes, his face, his voice, his touch… everything is so perfect.

He starts to lean in, his hand still on her cheek. She holds her breath, and slowly closes her eyes again. A tiny smile appears on her lips. She can't believe this is happening.

_Just a little bit now, just lean in a little bit closer… just a little bit… closer…_

"I'm sorry."

Gina's eyes flutter open. A look of confusion passes her. "What's wrong, Nick?" she asks, worried that she had done a mistake.

But the Warbler has retreated. He puts a hand over his mouth, and his eyes are wide with repulse as he says, "I'm sorry, Gina, but I can't. I just can't."

**Uh-oh! Why did Nick stop at the last minute? What do you think, guys? ;)**

**Anyway, I've been kind of picturing their duet to be quite romantic. This is a personal favorite chapter of mine, just fyi, hahaha.. :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**This is quite a lengthy chapter, I apologize for the length, but all the explanations just have to be crammed in this chapter. So… I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. :)**

CHAPTER TWENTY

Gina stares at Nick, who is pacing back and forth in front of her. Panic and annoyance start to take over her, but she finds herself unable to be mad at him.

"What do you mean, 'you can't'?" Gina demands. "Nick, talk to me. What's going on? Did I do something wrong?"

Nick stops pacing and closes his eyes. He puts both hands under his chin. "No," he whispers, more to himself than her. "No, you did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then what is it?" Gina asks, exasperated. "Are you… are you having doubts about this? About us?"

"Yes," Nick breathes, and Gina's heart aches. What did he just say? "But… but not in a way you might think." He walks up to her, takes both her hands in his, and holds it up to his chest. His face is pale, and if Gina isn't mistaken, he looks… terrified. "Gina, I'm a horrible, horrible person. I thought I could go through with it, but I just can't."

Gina can feel her heart hammering down on her chest. "What… what do you mean?" she whispers. Why does she feel so afraid right now? What had Nick actually done to make him act like this?

Nick takes a deep breath, trying to gain composure. But he fails. His expression of horror and disgust reappears on his face, and he scoffs as he tries to get the words out of his mouth.

"Gina…" he begins deliberately. His hands, which were warm before, are now icy cold. "Gina, I… I need to tell you something. I…" he shakes his head, then takes another deep, long breath before continuing his confession. "Gina, I… I didn't… I didn't ask you out… because I liked you."

For a moment, Gina's mind goes numb. She doesn't understand a word he is saying. "What?" she croaks, her throat dry, her lips chapped. What he said makes no sense to her.

"That day, at the charity… I didn't go to your stall by accident. I… I asked where you were to one of your friends. All the things I said to you, the flowers, the performance at the auditorium… they were all planned."

Gina lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, you mean you've _planned_ everything! It's okay, Nick! You told me yourself, right? That wasn't the first time you've seen me and –"

"No, no, Gina, you don't understand," Nick cuts her, gripping her hand tight. He holds her eyes, and she sees guilt welling up inside of him. "I asked you out on _purpose_." He holds his breath.

Gina's hands go rigid. "What… what are you saying?"

"Hunter and Sebastian put me up to this," he finally confesses, and all the composure and bravery he had gathered scattered like broken glass on the floor. "They… they were so angry that the New Directions had gotten them disqualified, and they thought of some plan to get back on them, and… and…"

Gina's blood runs cold. She seems to be suspended in time, her feet made out of solid rock, unable to move. Instinctively, she lets her hands drop from Nick's. Her eyes are still fixed on him; she can't look away. She is staring at him, wide-eyed, too shocked to even say anything. Her body feels like it was made out of jelly; she can't move them, she has no control over them. She must have misheard him. She must have misunderstood, or she didn't get something right, or…

"What… plan?" she finds herself ask. Her voice sounds alien to her, as if it wasn't her own. Her tongue felt papery and dry inside her mouth.

Nick sighs. "The plan to… to ruin you all from the inside," he says, unable to meet her in the eye. "The plan was to get close to one of you, one of you who could win the New Directions Regionals, seduce them, and… and ruin them."

"How?" Gina manages to croak again.

Nick lets out a heavy sigh. "Hunter thought of everything," he says. "He's the mastermind, the one who got into everyone's heads. Sebastian was reluctant at first, but Hunter persuaded him into this. He… he can be very persuasive when he wants himself to be. He knows how to get to us. Knows how to get what he wants. He was angry, so he made up a plan."

"At first, we planned on doing it the subtle way. At least, that's what they told me. I would get you to skip Glee practices, take your head out of the game, distract you. Then they wanted me to turn you against your friends, get ideas stuck in your head, get you to hate them, to fight them, to break them all. I thought, I thought that was all they were going to do, but then…" He shakes his head, biting his lip in remorse. "It… it got worse…"

He reaches behind Gina and retrieves the gift he had just given her. He tears it apart, to reveal a black-and-red backpack underneath it. He holds it in front of Gina's dumbstruck face. "Three days ago, they gave me _this_," he says. His eyes are red, brimming with tears. "They said that it was time to go hard on the New Directions. They wanted them to pay for what they did. They wanted the New Directions to fall exactly like the Warblers had fallen."

Gina's eyes widen with shock, repulsion, and understanding. "You… you don't mean…" she shivers, staring at the backpack as if it was a two-headed monster. "No, you can't be serious…"

Nick's grip on the backpack tightens. "They sewed it in," he says, his voice breaking. "They sewed it in some hidden inside pocket, at least twenty packs of them. The plan was to give the backpack to you, then call in your principal and some of your teachers early Monday morning." He looks away. "Today, when you've all gone home, I have to slip in some of the drugs to the Glee kids' lockers, the choir room, and everywhere that might cause Principal Figgins to believe that you all used drugs."

Gina is so numb, she can't speak. Her entire body shivers with cold sweat. She can't believe a thing she's hearing.

"It's not the same performance-enhancing drugs that the Warblers used; it's a different kind of drug. Hunter said the cops wouldn't hear a thing, so you wouldn't be jailed or anything, but it'd get you all suspended, maybe even disqualified early for Regionals. I don't know. But this is going to screw you all. Hunter planned the whole thing, and I had to carry out what he and Sebastian said, but… but…" He pulls at his hair. "The drug was just too much, Gina. I can't. I just can't put that kind of guilt on my shoulders." He lets out a sob, shaking his head in dismay.

Gina, she feels like a statue. Her heart is aching terribly, but her brain is too dumbstruck to give it attention. "Why me?" she peeps out then. "Why you?"

Nick looks up at her. His eyes are red-rimmed, his face flushed with embarrassment, but this time he looks at her with seriousness. With intensity.

"Hunter thought you were the most approachable," he says, and Gina's heart sinks lower. "That Tina girl is head over heels for Blaine, plus she's too close to him, he'd sniff something out. Brittany and Marley were potential targets, but they have boyfriends. Sugar isn't a star performer, and Kitty kind of scares everyone out on the Warblers. As for Unique, the boys are not sure how to get close to her. She's a tough case." He takes a deep breath. "You were the most potential target, Gina. You're new, you haven't developed that strong bond the New Direction members have. You're still trying to fit in there, you're still clueless. Plus, you're going to be one of the star dancers in Regionals. Hunter and Sebastian saw how good you were. They thought that taking you down first would be perfect."

Gina's heart bleeds some more. So this is it? This is what she means to Nick? Only some toy, some piece in his cruel game to destroy the New Directions? Nothing more?

"As for me, they chose me for a reason," Nick continues, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Sebastian's had a bad reputation with the New Directions. They will always see him as the bad guy, so using him won't work. Hunter wouldn't do it himself. They knew that I wanted to go to New York after this. They knew that the drug case and my suspension were huge blots in my application. They talked me into carrying out their revenge plan. They told me… they told me that there was a huge chance I wouldn't get accepted into New York, and the New Directions were the ones to blame."

He rubs his hands together, letting out a bitter laugh.

"At first, I was tempted. I have to be honest with you. We just lost Sectionals. I was angry. I had counted on winning Regionals, maybe even Nationals, to give a little boost on my application. Now, I probably can't even get in. Hunter and Sebastian knew that I had a strong reason to be angry at the New Directions, and they turned that anger around in me. A part of me wanted revenge. I felt like they had ruined my future. I was angry, I wasn't thinking, and I was stupid." He lets his accusations hang in the air. "So… I said yes."

"I can't believe this," Gina murmurs, her body trembling.

"At first, they told me that all I had to do was to seduce you and distract you. Then I should get you to break the team apart, influence you and turn them against you. That was all they said. It didn't sound too bad for me, so I agreed to do it."

"Didn't sound too bad?" Gina repeats, anger rising inside her.

"I told you, Gina, I was mad, blinded by rage. So I set the plan in motion, tried to be smooth, charming, make you like me. It surprised me that it didn't take too long. I… I didn't think it would go this well." He looks around, tortured by his guilt. "But after spending some time with you, Gina, I… you're… you're funny, and smart, and sarcastic, not like any of the other girls, I –"

"Don't you dare say you started to really like me," Gina threatens, her voice dangerous, "because none of this has ever been real."

"I truly like you, Gina!" Nick says exasperatedly. "You're a very likeable person, and I can't help it. I started to feel guilty for doing this to you, but I thought to myself that I could play along with this. After Regionals, whatever happens, I was planning on making this real." The bottom of his lips quiver. "But then Hunter and Sebastian were impatient, and Hunter was in one of his mood swings, and he proposed this… this _other idea_ to frame you. They thought that wrecking only one of you is not enough; they want to destroy all of you. I said no, but they forced me to do it. They would probably kill me if I knew I told you everything, but I just can't, Gina."

His eyes are filled with pain, sadness, and guilt, all wrenched into one, as he looks up at her once more.

"I can't stare into your eyes and lie to you anymore."

**Did you expect this confession from Nick? Did you believe that Nick was a nice guy, or did you agree with Ryder and had your suspicions from the beginning? **

**I didn't want to make Nick or the Warblers as bad guys, but when I thought of a plot the Warblers came to mind. Their reactions and feelings to their bitter disqualification were never really shown, so I thought something like this could happen, especially with people like Hunter and Sebastian on the lead. Also, I was watching "Michael" the other day and realized that Nick was one of the main Warblers who contributed to Sebastian's slushie prank on Blaine. So I thought that maybe he's had some kind of anger burning inside of him for the New Directions for some time. Anyways, I love Nick (well, I love Curt Mega actually – does anyone here watch Curt's Buffering series on youtube?), and I love the Warblers. I hope I am forgiven for making them the bad guys in this story!**


	21. Chapter 21

**So after the lengthy chapter seventeen, I decided to make this chapter shorter. There is another song featured in this chapter, though, and it is sung separately.**

**PS: To my reviewer, a Guest on the site, yeah, Nick is still pretty good because he confessed to Gina. I thought I would give him a break; he does seem like a nice character after all. He was just a bit misled and distraught. But I think he's still a nice person inside.**

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

_"I can't stare into your eyes and lie to you anymore_."

His words ring in her head. She stares at him, incredulous. She shakes her head, biting back tears. She is _not_ going to cry in front of this pathetic, two-faced liar. "You can't lie to me anymore?" she repeats, her voice as cold as ice. "Everything had been a lie. You're sick. All of you Warblers, you're sick. Blaine told me you were the nice guy. He thought you were different. _I_ thought you were different. But I guess both of us were wrong." She backs away from him as if he was a poisonous snake. Maybe he is.

"Go to hell, Nick."

She turns around and runs off the auditorium, not looking back.

Nick doesn't try to catch up with her. He doesn't even call her name. He doesn't have the right to. So instead, he just slumps down on the hard, auditorium floor, punching the backpack with the secretly sewed packs of drugs until his knuckles are bruised. Under the glare of the auditorium lights, he feels small, infinitesimal, insignificant. He's just a puny little bug, a horrible, disgusting creature. He is filled with guilt that his chest feels like it's about to burst with it. How? How could he do this to Gina? How could he be so heartless?

Once outside the auditorium, Gina lets herself cry. Her body explodes with tears. She is so ashamed, so humiliated, that she feels like she's… worthless. Unwanted. Stupid. Ignorant. A useless piece of crap.

As she walks down the corridor, hugging herself, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, she imagines herself singing a song. A song she never gave much thought before, but now knows what it means by heart.

In the auditorium, lost and alone, Nick imagines himself singing the same song.

_[Gina]:_

_I'm gone, the ground is shaking under_

_Feels like the world may all come crashing down_

_Now your words and sorrys have no meaning,_

_Baby you lied_

_[Nick]:_

_You turned it on, wasn't my imagination_

_Everybody knows that you've been running round_

_So dumb, let you play with my emotions,_

_Baby you lied_

Gina, running away from McKinley, biting the inside of her mouth to stop herself from shaking. Nick, still slumped on the auditorium floor, senseless, not able to move.

_[Both]:_

_If this isn't love, what did I feel inside?_

_If this is love how could you look in my eyes?_

_Cause my heart is breaking, not falling this time_

_This can't be love now I know, you're a beautiful lie_

Gina, dumping all the cards and flowers Nick had ever given her. Ripping their pictures together, erasing his name from her notebooks, deleting his text messages without a second thought. Pausing in front of the Warbler blazer, caressing it under her fingers. Pausing, before ripping it off its hanger and dumping it to the trash.

_[Gina]: _

_So cold, had me wrapped around your finger,_

_Part of a show, like a puppet on a string_

_How could I know? I was just another victim_

_Baby you lied_

Nick, staring at her name on his screen, wanting so badly to hear her voice. Holding their pictures together to his chest, reliving the happier memories. Scrolling through pictures of the two of them on his phone, missing her smile, her laugh. Rereading her text messages, hoping to have another conversation with her, knowing that he would never get her trust back.

_[Nick]:_

_I can't stay when I keep falling apart,_

_[Gina]:_

_I won't be here waiting lost in the dark_

_[Both]:_

_Now I know it's time to let go, and I won't take this anymore_

_I don't wanna be lonely, but I can't take no more…_

Gina, crying herself to tears that night. Wanting to call Ryder, but is too embarrassed to do so. Her heart shriveling in pain, her head going crazy with memories of Nick.

Nick, lying wide awake on his bed, silently screaming inside. Remembering that night, watching the stars, with her at his side. Wondering if she had erased him from her life completely.

_[Both]:_

_Cause my heart is breaking, not falling this time_

_This can't be love, now I know_

_It's just a beautiful lie…_

Gina, turning around and closing her eyes.

Nick, reaching out to turn off the lights.

Everything goes dark.

**NB: The song is ****_Beautiful Lie_**** by Jennifer Paige and Nick Carter.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Gyder friendship. J Thanks for the reviews again, and thanks for sticking up with me this far. Only a couple of chapters left until the story is completed, so I hope you'll all stick around for the ending. ;)**

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

By Monday morning, Gina has bags under her eyes. She is so tired from crying so much, she has to drag herself into school today. She has no more tears left; she is done crying for Tweety bird. She has decided that he's just a bad memory that she has to wipe clean.

She is weakly stuffing books into her locker when she sees Ryder approach. She avoids his eyes, even when he stands next to her, watching her silently.

She sighs. "Go ahead, say it," she says. She hates herself. She sounds like a zombie.

"Say what?" Ryder frowns in confusion.

Gina wheels in to face him. "_I told you so_," she says. She doesn't sound angry, or annoyed, or even upset. She just sounds… tired. "You were going all Warbler Nazi on me, and I didn't even listen. Now I'll have to pay the price by being a miserable prick with a broken heart that everyone hates. Again." She stuffs the rest of her books and slams her locker shut.

"I'm not here to judge you," Ryder tells her, as gently as he can. "I'm not even here to laugh at you. I just came here because… I thought you'd need someone to talk to."

Ryder had figured out what had happened with Nick by accident. He had called Gina on Saturday morning, just a day after Nick's confession, to tell her that she had left her bag at Glee practice yesterday, and the newly awaken Gina thought he was Nick. She had yelled and cursed at Ryder excessively over the phone before hanging up. When the bewildered Ryder called her up again later, she finally gave in and told him the whole story. He had wanted to come visit her, but she strictly told him not to. Honestly, she was not ready to see him yet. She was still embarrassed. Heck, she _is_ still embarrassed.

But now, Gina looks at him as if he were too good to be true. "You're not… pissed off at me?"

"Pissed off, yeah, a little bit," Ryder admits. "But the truth is, Gina, you're my friend. I care for you. When I see you sad, I kind of feel sad, too." He grimaces. "I just never wanted you to get hurt. I just wanted you safe. But friends make stupid mistakes and gets into stupid fights sometimes."

Gina sniffs, her lips curling into a teary, grateful smile. She rushes forward to give her best friend a long, big hug.

"I'm so sorry," she murmurs, gripping the back of his shirt tightly. Ryder hugs her back, patting her head affectionately, like an older brother comforting his crying sister. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm sorry for thinking you were the bad guy." She sniffs again. "I should really listen to you, shouldn't I? You always seem to be right."

Ryder chuckles. "Yeah, I think you _really_ need to start listening to me," he says.

"I need to apologize to everyone on Glee, too," she says, pulling back. "I put everyone in danger by… what did Sam say? Sleeping with the enemy?"

"I'd rather you say _fraternizing_," Ryder mumbles.

"_Fraternizing_ with the enemy," Gina corrects. "I'll… go apologize on Glee club today. Maybe sing a song."

"They'd love that," Ryder agrees. They start walking down the corridor together, Ryder's arm around Gina's shoulder. Right here, next to her best friend, Gina realizes that she feels the most secure. Ryder will always look out for her. At least, she knows that she can always count on him. How could she ever doubt him?

"Did you know that Brittany is in the astronomy club?" Ryder perks up a conversation as they walk to Math.

"No way! For real?" Gina's eyes widen.

"Yeah, I think she's studying a meteorite, or something. Said something's moving in the direction of Earth, and it's coming closer every day. Weird, huh?"

"Very weird."


	23. Chapter 23

**Cute Ryley moments alert! :)**

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

_One problem done, another one left._

Ryder has a smile on his face as he finds Marley in her History class, sitting alone, reading silently. He knocks on the door and she stands up.

"Hey, you're alone in here?" Ryder asks.

Marley rubs her frail-looking hands together. "I wanted to be alone," she tells him. "Usually Jake is with me."

"Well, good, because I kind of need you to be alone for this," Ryder says, putting his backpack down on a table. He looks at Marley seriously. "Marley, I know what's going on with you and Jake."

Marley's heart does a somersault. "You do?" she asks. "But… how?"

"Jake told Puck all about it. I guess he had to tell _someone_. Puck kind of came up to my house yesterday and demanded an apology." Ryder shrugs. "When I said I didn't get what he meant, he explained it all to me."

Marley's face falls. "So… you know," she says quietly. "You must… really hate me right now."

"I don't hate you," Ryder says honestly. "I told you I never will, right?"

"But I played with your feelings," Marley reminds him. "Left you because you missed out on one date, didn't stop you from kissing me, and now you know that I've been… writing things about you." She hangs her head down. "All these while I was Jake's girlfriend."

Ryder shrugs. "Look, you knew that both Jake and I had feelings for you. You had a choice, and you made your decision." He says. "There's nothing I can say to that. I've got to learn to accept that, and I'm learning, Marley. I really am."

"I could have been a better girlfriend," she says miserably. "Or a better friend, to you. I've kind of messed both you and Jake up, haven't I?"

Ryder chuckles. "Nah, we're both already messed up anyway," he says.

"What if I made the wrong choice?" Marley speaks out the fear she has kept inside of her. "What if I made the wrong decision?"

Ryder steps forward then, and looks her in the eye. "Marley," he says. Even hearing him say her name calms her down. "Do you feel miserable right now, hurting Jake, knowing that he might hate you?"

Marley doesn't even take a second to answer. "Yes," she nods. "Yes, I feel awful."

"Do you feel lonely?"

"Yes," Marley whispers, finally admitting to herself that she does. "Yes, I do."

"Do you miss Jake?"

"I do," she closes her eyes. "I somehow do. I really do."

Ryder backs off. "You've made the right choice." He says. He smiles, but it's tinted with sadness. It kills Marley to see that sad smile on him. She wants to say something to make him feel better, something like, _but I miss you too, and I miss you whenever you're not around me_, but she figures it will only make matters worse.

"I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm still not completely over you," he says, reaching for his backpack. "But Marley, you've chosen Jake. Maybe you're still a little confused right now on how you feel, but I think you've always known what your heart wants. I'll try to accept it as best I can, but Marley," he rummages in his backpack for something. "Never forget that you'll _always_ be my friend."

He pulls out a tiny blue box from his backpack, and gives it to Marley. Surprised, Marley takes it from him and opens it gingerly. Inside is a small pin in the form of a white dove. She picks it up, marveling its beauty. "A dove pin?" she asks.

"I know I'm cheesy, but I was inspired by that Home Alone movie," Ryder says, smirking. He pulls out a similar dove pin from his jacket pocket. "I have one too. You've seen the movie, right? You know what this means?"

Marley nods. She knows, but she wants to hear it come out of Ryder's mouth.

"It means that as long as I have this dove, and as long as you have your dove, we'll remain friends." Ryder smiles. "You'll always have my love, Marley. I don't know what might happen to us in the future, but just remember, I'll be here for you, whenever you need me. You can always count on me." He raises the dove pin. "Deal?"

Marley smiles up at him, grateful for having such a wonderful friend around. "Deal," she says. "Thank you, Ryder. You really are a true friend."

Ryder winks as he takes his backpack off the table. "I hope you'll work things out with Jake soon," he says earnestly. "You look happy when you're with him. As long as you're happy… I'm happy."

At that moment, Marley has the urge to tell him everything. To tell him how she has been feeling these last few weeks. How her heart has raced whenever she sees him; how she is jealous whenever he's with Gina; how she feels happiest when she's around him. She wants to tell him that she needs him, that she wants to be with him, too.

But after her big fight with Jake, after being ignored and abandoned by him, Marley has suffered some kind of loss, too. Ryder was right; she has been feeling lonely without Jake by her side. She has missed him terribly. This separation has truly made her realize how much she loves Jake.

But what about Ryder? What about the scraps of her feelings for him? What if Ryder was wrong? What if she _had_ made the wrong choice?

Clutching the precious dove pin to her chest, Marley Rose finally makes a decision.

**Oo-oooh, who do you think Marley will choose? You Ryley and Jarley shippers… hahaha… their love triangle seriously kills me.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello my lovely readers. I am back with chapter twenty four, the second from last chapter of this story. I have a feeling that most of you will hate me over this chapter. Well… come what may, but… here's chapter twenty four. Enjoy! *grin***

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Marley knows she will find Jake in the football field, hanging by the bleachers, with a can of soda and his guitar next to him. She knows that he's still furious at her, and that he would probably be cruel to her, but she has to try. She has to talk to him.

"It's cold outside," Marley says, catching Jake's attention. She sits next to him, but he moves further away immediately.

"You shouldn't have come outside then," he tells her coldly.

She decides to get straight to the point. "I'm not here to argue with you," she says. "I'm here to really apologize to you." She takes something out of her duffel bag. It's a light blue notebook, with flannel stars and a moon on the cover. There is a big letter "J" etched roughly on the cover. She hands it to Jake.

Jake is reluctant to take it at first, but curiosity gets the better of him. He takes the notebook from her and flips it open.

Plastered inside are pictures of him – him in his favorite leather jacket, him on the opening night of Grease, him on their first date, him with his silly superhero costume, him in his Sectionals uniform, him with his arm wrapped around Marley's neck, him kissing her on the cheek…

There are dates, too. Dates and captions scribbled down underneath the pictures. There are pages filled with Marley's handwriting about him. The nice things, the sweet things. The things he remembers he had ever told her and done for her.

"I've been making one for you too," Marley says with an uncomfortable shrug. "Both that notebook and the pink one has always been in my drawer."

Jake reads a little of Marley's handwriting before tossing the notebook aside. "You could have made it up recently," he says, although he looks a little less angry than before. "Slap some pictures of me in there, write some good stuff, fake the dates. I won't remember, anyway."

Marley shakes her head. She picks up the fallen notebook and points out a page to him. "Remember that day we were slushied, and some of the slushies got into my bag?" she asks. She points to a red stain on some of the papers of the notebook. "This notebook was in that bag. I had written something on it earlier."

Jake stares at the red blotch, thoughtful. He seems indecisive; he doesn't know what he should do now.

"I didn't just make this in one day, Jake," she says. "You were right. I was wrong to have made up that notebook about Ryder. I was your girlfriend, and I had made my choice."

"You don't have to stick to that choice now, do you?" Jake asks grumpily.

"I burned the book."

Jake turns to her, surprised. "What?"

"I burned the book." Marley repeats with a sigh. "When I realized what I had done, I felt so guilty that the only right thing to do was to destroy the book." She offers him a thin smile. "I saved the pictures, but I burned the entire notebook. I was wrong, Jake. I realize that now. And I'm sorry." She shuffles closer to him. "The days when we weren't talking," she explains, "I felt so miserable. I was lonely, and I missed you. That's when I finally realized… that it is _you_ I have loved all along. I've made my choice, and I choose _you_."

Jake stares at her, speechless. He doesn't know what to feel; should he be flattered? Angry? Relieved?

"I want to be with you. I want to be a better girlfriend for you. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm terribly, honestly sorry." Marley closes her eyes. "Please, Jake. I'm asking you to forgive me. Will you please give me one more chance?"

Jake sighs as he stares deep into those beautiful, cerulean eyes. Marley looks so earnest, he doesn't have the heart to _not_ forgive her. After all, he had missed her too. He had been feeling kind of lonely and miserable too, and no one could comfort him but her. It's her he wants, and no one else. He wants to forgive her so badly. He wants to love her again. He really does.

"I'm afraid to trust you now," he confesses. "First you said you let Ryder kiss you, then you turned out to have secret love confessions about him on a notebook. What if one day you backstab me again? How do I know you won't do it again?"

Marley bites her lip. "It's hard to trust me again, I know," she admits. "What can I do to give you a guarantee, Jake? When we first started dating, I had trouble trusting you too. But I gave it a shot. I learned how to trust you, and now look what we have become." She shrugs. "I'm asking you to do the same for me. I'm asking you to risk trusting me again, because the only way I can answer your question is by showing you, as time goes by."

She looks up at him expectantly. There is doubt swimming in his brown eyes.

"Please, Jake," she tells him. "One more chance? One more chance, and I promise I won't screw it up."

Jake holds Marley's gaze for a long moment. How beautiful those eyes are, how pure, how sweet, how lovely…

"I'm going to hate myself for this," he mumbles to himself. "One chance. That's all I'm giving you. One chance, because I'm still pathetically, deeply in love with you."

A huge grin breaks on Marley's face. She jumps up and gives Jake a hug. "I love you," she whispers in his ear. "I love you, and I'm sorry. I won't mess up again."

Jake doesn't feel anything but relief now. He wraps his arms tightly around Marley's small body, inhaling her scent, secretly thanking God that she's back with him, right here, right now. Gosh, how he loves her. How he always wants to be with her.

"I love you, Marley," he mutters, closing his eyes as he takes in the warmth of her body against his. "I love you."

**Aaaand… that's it! I'm sorry Ryley shippers. I'm a Ryley shipper myself, but I want to follow the Glee storyline, and since Jake and Marley are still together in the Shooting Star episode (and all the way through the end of the season, mind you), I'll have to return Marley to Jake! Please don't hate me, but that's how I planned this story to be – to still follow the real Glee storyline. But hey, who knows what might happen to Ryley in the future seasons, right? Especially now that Blake and Melissa are dating… :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys. I know that most (if not all) of you hate me now for putting Jarley back together. I'm sorry, but that's just how I'd planned the story in my mind all along. So I'm sorry for the disappointment, but that's how I thought this story should go. To all of you who said you were done with the story, I still thank you for reading up until now. I hope you will not judge my further fanfictions on this one story. Every story has different circumstances, conditions, and different plots/problems. So I hope you won't prejudice my future stories (in which I have no other Ryley fanfic planned) based on this story.**

**To RyderFan and one Guest: I did want to put Jake into the tag as well, but if I did, Ryder's name would not be included (I don't know what's wrong with my tagging system), so I did not put his name in there. Same goes for my previous story, Who You Are. This story does focus on Ryder and Marley and their relationship. A main part of this story does revolve around their relationship, and though in the end I decided not to put them together, they are still considered the "central" characters of this story. So I'm sorry that you're disappointed, but I don't think I will change the tag. This story is about Ryder too, after all.**

**So the last chapter is finally here. A little confusing, maybe, but it reflects on Ryder's (possible) feelings.**

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

"Hi," Gina waves at everyone on Glee club, who obviously is still mad at her. "I'm here to make a seriously sincere apology to all of you, so, please, no insults for the first three minutes, okay?"

"No promises," Kitty mutters under her breath.

"I know I've been quite a pain in the ass these last few days," Gina begins. "And, if you're not already aware, I have very nearly put all of you in danger of being disqualified for Regionals." She grimaces. "All in the chivalrous name of love."

"You know what could have happened if the Warblers' plan worked?" Tina snaps at her. "We would lose, twice this year. Principal Figgins probably won't even let us compete next year. Oh, wait, that's right – I _won't_ be here next year!"

"I know, I know," Gina mumbles. "I guess I deserve all your anger and disappointment and all that comes with them. Which is why I'm giving you all free passes to any kind of insults, torture, and slushie attacks at me for the next two weeks. Just… try not to resort to cannibalism and kill me, okay?" She fixes her gaze on Mr. Schuester. "And I owe you an apology, Mr. Schue. I'm sorry for putting all your hard work in danger. I promise I'll be careful next time."

"I'm still in shock of what happened, but thank you, Gina," Mr. Schue says. Gina feels grateful to have such a wise and kindhearted teacher for Glee club. "I think you've learned your lesson, and apology accepted. And yes, you should definitely be more careful next time."

"Listening to us would be a good start," Artie chimes in.

"And, as part of my apologetic gesture to all of you, Ryder and I decided that we wouldn't be singing solos at Regionals," she says. She grins at the brown-haired jock, who is sitting beside her, giving her his famous thumbs-up. "Tina was right. It's only fair that we audition for solos like everyone else."

"Now _that_'s good news," Tina says, her face brightening considerably.

"But, we _are_ getting our solos." She glances at Ryder. "Ready?"

He nods.

"Here's to lying scumbags and heartbreakers." Gina announces as she takes the seat next to her best friend.

Ryder suppresses a smile as he sings the first verse.

_Let me hold you for the last time,_

_It's the last chance to feel again_

_But you broke me, now I can't feel anything_

Ryder's eyes wander towards Marley. He can't help it. She is smiling at him, with Jake's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Ryder feels a tiny sting in his heart as he watches the two of them snuggle closer to each other. When he and Gina chose this song, all he could think of was his feelings for Marley. He wondered if he had actually made a mistake of letting her go. He had a chance to take her for himself, but somehow he had willingly returned her to Jake.

_Oh, it tears me up,_

_I tried to hold on but it hurts too much_

_I tried to forgive but it's not enough_

_To make it all okay…_

Maybe next time, when the opportunity arises, he should take Marley back. He should tell her how much he loves her, how much he needs her and how he always wants her for himself. Sometimes, seeing her happy is not enough. Sometimes, he just wants to see her happy _with_ him.

_You can't play our broken strings_

_You can't feel anything_

_That your heart don't want to feel_

_I can't tell you something that ain't real_

But what does the song tell him? _You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel_. It applies to Marley's heart as well. No matter how hard he tries, if she doesn't feel the same way about him, then it's pointless. How many times have he tried? Three times, as far as he remembers. All those time throughout Grease. Superhero week and the cancelled date. Valentine's Day and the kiss. Not to mention the small flirting gestures, the compliments, and the occasional kind deeds he gives her. The messages, the phone calls, the multiple mentions on twitter, the instant messages… How many times has she implied that they are "just friends"? How many times have he tried to pull her towards him, and how many times has she gone bouncing back to Jake?

Too many.

_Oh the truth hurts, and lies worse_

_How can I give anymore_

_When I love you a little less than before?_

_But_, Ryder reminds himself, _it's been a little easier to get over Marley these last few weeks. _He has to admit, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to anymore. Sure, he still wants her, and sure, he's still jealous whenever she's with Jake, but it's been easier. There are even periods of time when he can even put her completely out of his mind. He doesn't feel like a complete loser anymore whenever he sees them holding hands. He has stopped texting and messaging Marley every night. He's been feeling a whole lot better, actually.

_But we're running through the fire, when there's nothing left to say_

_It's like chasing the very last train,_

_When we both know it's too late, too late…_

What really has happened to him? What finally gives him the push he needs to get over Marley?

_You can't play our broken strings,_

_You can't feel anything_

_That your heart don't want to feel_

_I can't tell you something that ain't real_

Ryder glances sideways at Gina, who is still too absorbed in the song to return his gaze. He looks at her curiously, as if he was seeing her for the first time. He's never realized how magical she sounds when she sings.

_Let me hold you for the last time_

_It's the last chance to feel again…_

Gina's cheeks are flushed as she reaches her hand out to him. There are stars in her eyes.

Ryder squeezes her hand, and smiles.

_I think, _he tells himself, _I'll be okay for now._

**NB: The song is ****_Broken Strings_**** by James Morrison and Nelly Furtado. **

**Well, this is the last chapter of the story! I hope you didn't find Ryder's thoughts to be confusing. And I know that he's supposed to have Katie and all that at the time this story is set, but I just want to put her in the background and let's pretend he has forgotten about Katie for just a teenie tiny weenie bit, okay?**

**Anyways… I hope you enjoyed this story as much as you enjoyed "Who You Are", and still like Gina as a character, though she can be quite annoying in this particular story. And I know that I disappointed you all with Jarley's comeback. Special thank you to:**

**_KlaineForeverLover07_**

**_Gleeotch13_**

**_Astrita15_**

**_CrestofGlee_**

**_savannah. ramirez. 35_**

**_This guest (or guests) that have loyally followed and reviewed my story. I don't know who you are, and I know you've given up on the story, but thank you!_**

**Thank you to everyone who have reviewed, followed, and favorited my story. I really do appreciate each and every single one of your reviews. Thanks for staying with me so far, and those who have given up, still, thank you. "Broken Strings" is my last Glee fanfiction with Gina and Ryder. Maybe the last Ryley fanfic too, but I don't know. I want to focus on my Santana, Finchel, and Kitty fanfics for now.**

**I'm sorry for any disappointments or mistakes in this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you again for giving this story a chance!**


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